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GOVERNMENT OP INDIA
ARCILEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

CENTRAL;

ARCHAEOLOGICAL

LIBRARY

ACCESSION NO.5,3.0 _

CALL No. _ L33. qp? _

Ttiu»CYf __

D.U.A.'lD.

THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF MYSTICISM

THE PHYSICAL
PHENOMENA
OF MYSTICISM

HERBERT THURSTON , S,J.

7290

ELrnip DV

J. H. CREHA.N, 5.J.

132422

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HENRY REGNERY COMPANY
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PREFACE

B ETWEEN the year* igi^and iggBFr, Herbert Thurston Wf ole a
series ofsludies on the physical ptobniena ofmyitkhtn. In 1933
his views were much clarified when a Lutheran do< tor hi
Crnuauy succeeded In producing striata by suggestion irs a hysterical
patient. The tirtruratfaisoes of the occasion were vouched tor by
reputable physicians* uud Fr, Thurston < although prevhmdy
inclined to think that suggestion could help much towards the
production of stigmata in apt subjects, now accepted the Herman
evidence iis conclusive. Fortunately the MS. of a lectinx which he
gave on diis subject to a nfeedicol audience survive and it is here
published for die first lime. The other papers were published hi
Thr Month, Tht Cetkalk SUiktd Guardian, and Slurfu** Before his
death Fr* Thurston had liegun to revise the imnsdt adding

notes to a vet of olf-prinu and pruning repetitions. Where the
alitor has round it necessary* to add footnotes of his own* either
because Fr. TburatttTs revision is not fully written up or some
fresh point Ilus arisen in recent years, the additional note’ are
initialled J.H.G. All other notes are Fr, Thurston's.

J. H. CfiiHAN* S.J.

Heyihrop, 31 st July . 1951.

Q o N T F. N T S

Chapter

II.

Ill*

IV,

VI.

Ml.
VI IT.
IX.
X.

XI*

XIL

XHL

Page

Levitation i , 1

2 , *3

Stjkuata J. Stigmata before St. Francis* 32

2. Were St* Franca 1 Stigmata Unique? 44

3. The Genem of Stigmata. 57

4* Stigmata and Sanctity. fti

5. A Stigmatisation Imposture* 83

6. The Case of Padre Pio. <15

7. Hysteria and Dual Personality* tio

0 r Some Conclusions about Stigmata. 120

Tokens of Espousal. 130

TELEKINESIS. H*

The huifljfnus of Mrnicuw. *62

Human SAlAKAJmsai i.

Bodily Elongation.

Incendiltc Auoris.

The Onot-'ft or Sanctity

lNCOftfctTPTION 1.

Tiif. Absekcf. Of CUoavssu RtutorrY.
Br.OO|> PnODTGtEL.

l iiL Case ul Mollef Fanoher r,

3 '

171

l8l .

192

^09

222

*33

=44

□71

283

3«3

318

v*Ui

CONTEXTS

XTV.

Morf Seeing WrraODT Eves,

ja6

XV.

Tup. Mystic as ttuMOER-STRtKiia i.

34*

XVL

Living With on Eating i .

363

374

XVJt

MuLTtrucATioN or Food.

IttDEK

397

CHAPTER 1

LEVITATION

a T a time when ninth attention is being directed by popular
/V writers to the manifestations of spi ritualistic medium*,

JL * it docs hoc seem out oi plate to fetal! the !.«:( lliiiS t! we

Arc in search tif tnjirvd> t no dais of materials i; worthy ,; i ^ ,1! ^
as the records of Catholic mysticism. Throughout E4oly Writ,
from the days of Pharao lo thoae of Siiiiutl .\tiigu*. the position
seems to be taken up that while true believer do not posjess any
monopoly of signs and wombs i, the mighty works which they
perform by the power of tlae Mrat High are in every way more
jtupendiJui than die prwligir of natural or diabolical magic with
which they are placed ns it were in competition. We may fairly
assume that the omr principle holds good in past-biblical times,
Nevertheless those engaged Inpeychical research, and t\ej\ Catholic*
themselves* have so jar paid hut little attention to the physical
phenomena of .oogfcum. A prejudice against the Etierntur* nj
the supernatural teems to have been created by the unm iical
mediiMia of hagiographere. Living themselves in art atmosphere*
of unquestioning faith, they have accepted M& repeated without
dacritnination all the marvels "i whw h they found any record,. and
U has rarelv occurred to them that the statement* oT virtumB ami
wdUmaming people are sometimes a* untrustworthy as those ot
unscrupulous romancers.

Readers of Mr. Wilfrid Ward 1 * biography of Cardinal Newman
will rerall the trouble caused iu thr euriv days d bp ocmvwdofl
by the publication of the Orawbn series of Lives nt the Samts.
Whatever view be taken of the episode, and oi the action of those
Concerned, it w plain beyond quatfen that the general tone of the
works tramlued provoked criticUm, and was unacceptable to a
considerable body of the Catholic clergy and laity Apart bom
their inadequate literary presentment, the matter ol these volume*
gave offence by "the abundance of imptrf&tlj prats miracles
which jarred upon English taste and itemed to smack of extrava-

ft TTfE PHYSICAL F||ENtJ5IE\A OK XYlllUUZ

fin nee ami scnsarioiiali'm. I have ventured !o kalicLtc fsvo words
in the phrase used by Mr* Ward* for the hitch undoubtedly lay
th ere* The English Catholic of early Victoria n day* made no
difficulty about accepting the miraculous in the abstract* but Ur
did not believe that miracles were things of doily ocGUnnence, and
if great demands were to lie nude upon hit credulity Itc not un¬
naturally considered that proportionate evidence ahmild lie forth-
coming. Nun, whing the aveiur.i- Saint N Li!'- i A' Italian mi"in,
even when it i* ba nd, as Is often the case, upon the iJe positions of
ihc \vitneijie? eh the process of Beatification. no exintt references art
supplied* and no indication is afforded uf the value of these sources*
or u! the nature, of the testimony, or of tin: circumstance* under
which it was given, The marvellous event deposed to by a single
vgtmrs* in extreme old age who had heard the atnry in hi* youth
from some third person unnamed, b set down, aa a fact with the
samp mi'tful tonfidrncr with which the biographer records the
riciailx attested independently by n d j/ch diflci cm eonlernporaries
who had listed in daily mtcrcciLirv- with thr Saint and hud lieen the
spectators of all his action*. In the one caw a> in ihe other the
reader is left in the dark, he hast |q take tile rt amt tar’s word fnr it,
and if he deice Li P as lie often may, an under lying tEmiemv lu strain
even? point that can be made use of fnr purposes of edification* it
i:i hardly to be wondered at if die ismliiplkaiiou of aituimding
marvels leaves him unimpressed. The result h cci la inly Unfortu¬
nate, for the evidence accumulated and relatively easy of access in
The processes of lien,rificaiion and paiMHiizatiaUt printed wilb the
sanction of the Congregation of Rita, is often marc remarkable*
and notably better at letted, than any to Ik? found in tin^ />#$_
Cftdhtgt of the Stxieij f$T Fsjfliftil Rf.u'iiTih,

Pttnv, as s physical marvel, of frequent ocrnrrcntT in hiiiftn-
graphjcal racordi, which ts peculiarly suitable fm investigation, [
propose to take in the first instance the question of the leviration
of the. haxaan body. Is it a fact that Saints, when in a state uf
ecstatic trance, have been lifted from the ground and have remained
impended for a notable time in mid sir. without the Interference
of any human agency ! I say that this is a matter peculiarly
suitable for investigation, because she face, sf k be a fare, requires
no expert evidence to aitne it* Hie cure ol a blind, mao, or of a
canccnxn growth* or even in many cases thr apparent railing of
the dead to life* are always apt to leave behind a certain dement
of uncertainly. How do we know that the man was really dead ?
Was the growth correctly diagnosed as malignant ? What vraj the

J_£VITATIQ'i

esmve uud nature of the blindness ? Was the inability Ui see
organic or merely functional ? To determine these questions there
i.i often need of the best expert ev idence, and even then physicians
mud surgeons of the highest eminence will he the Gnt to ram few
their liability to error, Bui given sufficient ilay-lighi and fairly
normal conditions the rrnut LiiiedtitaUsi witiie.s- U competent to
declare whether a particular person Was tumdihg upon die ground
or devoted in the :tir, the more vo became, owing to tire state of
ir^n-re in which the subject nf die inquiry is found, it is quite
Me for the witness la approach and satisfy himself by the sense
t<f touch di. 1 t the Spectacle presented to bis eye? is no illusion, Ol
course it U well known that from Lhe days dI Lnmhhchna, nr curlici
Ktill, to thrsc of D. D. Home tlic number of persons without any
claim to jciintslrip who are said to hsvt been levitated, either Ijy
dir ugeiicy of spirit* or by forces magical or psychic, b.o been
considerable. 1 One particular instance is especially famous, as it
was attested by three witnesses l,ord Llnd&iy (afterward* the Earl
of Crawford), Lord A that (afterwards die Earl of Uunraven), and
Cbputxn Wynne, who affirmed their abwlutc conviction or the
genuineness of the occurrence bc-Epjrc a COUUUUtee of die Dialectical
Society* and at other limo, On tliii occasion, December 1 !b
Mr. Home h .illegcd to have float ed out of one window on the
third flour nt So. 5, Buckingham Gate and in again at the further-
most window of die adjoining room- The three gentlemen mem
tinned v.-cre all present, but die lights were very low- one of than
ahn wards *ahi that hr saw what happened by the li^ht ol’ thr
ini Hin. bm in there was a eicw mociii on Dfjccmber tjjlh, dus 1 »
imtuussihle if the dm-: is correct. 1‘berr seenu no doubt, from all
die accounts preserved* that the witnesses had been worked up to
a high pitch of nervous radtefflCttf: by Home > aimotiiicetneni of
n hat hr intended to do, and it murtabo be admitted that (here are
many discrepancies among the witnesses m to minor e letup* The

hue Mr* F, Podmore, who had twice discussed the evidence at
some length, delivered himself <m the second occasion of the
following gcnrrd proanouncemCn t;

Personally I Qnd mo difficulty whatever in explaining the whole
of the recorded feats nT levitation. whether of Home, Gordon,

1 tu&uiiui ihcnutlt-KT^ihe Uu*i« Muncy, oTwMun h ha* tfflwniJy brtniaM:
- TW a w rrii*ftrt ttf 4win Ijii flood laith wJivn lie wtrtl he BWjar

tannujl • Lwrthrt t-lii.t--, P , a* . -l«Jarr> ih*i in hii pn*n».i who had
botfi bnnwlit iu S- \Enrajim to he -ivrtiKd w*» hy ilie habit * pnvm raiMd
fWm eJi~ gromlfl and WInpESdiM m tin: •nf, I f Trt . kvui, p. J-5.

THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF MYSTICISM

Etuapia (Palladino), or Stainton Mwes, as simple instances of
rather crude sense deception in which the sensory data played an
extremely small part. All the favouring conditions are present—
a dim light, subtle suggestion on the part of the medium and a
considerable degree of emotional exaltation.

Mr. Podmore was a resolute sceptic, and it seems to me that
there U much more difficulty about explaining the allegations made
in the case of Home’s many feats of this kind than the reader would
infer from the words just quoted.* Nevertheless the points which
Podmore makes are all good points. These feats were all per¬
formed in a subdued and uncertain light. They were all in some
sense ** staged M and led up to by suggestion* of a rather dramatic
kind. Hence the witnesses were in a state of expectant attention,
Aid if we admit the possibility of any hypnotic influence l*ing
exerted by Home the conditions were in every way favourable.

Now what more directly concerns us here is the fact that in the
levitations of the mystical order, such as wc read of in the lives of
the Saints, all Mr. Podmoic's objections fall to the ground. Except
on rare occasions these manifestations took place in full daylight
Secondly, there was no desire on die part of the mystic to produce
an impression or to attract attention to what was happening. On
die contrary wc have overwhelming evidence in case after case
that those who were liable to these ecstasies and raptures did their
very best to hide them from the eyes of men. Their humility was
outraged by die notice they excited and by the veneration which
was paid them in consequence. What is more, these levitations
occurred, os a rule, without any warning and without tire least
predisposition on the part of die witnesses to expect such pheno¬
mena. If only the facts arc attested by witnesses for whose good
faith wc can answer there seems no possible ground for resisting
the conclusion that the most universal and familiar of all the
physical laws which govern our material existence in this wurld
has over and over again been suspended by some agency external
to die person affected and wholly spiritual in its nature.

* Podmore, MaJtm Sfnnlujlnm, II, pp. 260—78, and Tht Xrtttr S'fnntn.ihim.
pp. 59—61. Mr. Podmiwr doe* not sertn to me to attach •ulBrksit importance
to the other detail* recorded in the itiiiitifrt tatinas of Mr Home when the medium
w&i levitated within the room indt See. r./., the account given, without the names
of the shim, in Tht Spiritual Afaftztnt, April. 1869, p. 177. From this it apfican
further that Home actually repeated the experiment to thow them how he went
out of the window. *' An mvmMc power then supported Mr. Home all hut
buraontaily in space and thrust his body into space through the ojxm window,
bead fnrrmeat, bringing him hack again feet (oremost into the room, shunted
not unlike a shutter into the basement below."

LEVITATION

But before appealing lo what sen ns to nn- to Ik die nua of good
<md satisfactory evidence available in this matter, let rac call
.mention to one or two examples of a type which might easily
produce a had impression upon the inquirer atul tend pcrliaps to
the rash inference dial these alleged nt-rial raptures of the Saint*
are no more than picturesque fragments of Christian mythology.
Let ut begin with Francis of Awiisi, the most popular of Saintt,
and one whose ivpe of holiness b Held in veneration by hundreds
of iHotlvuuk of tJinsc who profess nti nlkgiuner to the QathpEic
Chiu i In thr Stigmata section of the Uttb Ftauvrs n/ Si. Frantii
we read a* follows concerning the happening when the Saint
allowed Brotliet Leo to vial lum in the remoter solitude of Mount
AUvemia:

And from that hour the said. Friar Leo commenced tn tern tin Lie
and lei consider the life of St. Francis with great purity and good¬
will; and by reason of hb purity, he merited to behold Imw many
a tinir and ofi St. Frauds was rapt in God and uplifted from die
ground sometime-i for thr space of thr re cubits, sometimes of four,
and sfumctimes even tn the height of thr beech-free; and some¬
times hr hell rid him raised to high in the air and surrounded with
meb radiance, that Scarcely could he see him. And what did this
dm pic friar do when Su Fraud* vm so lmk raised above the
ground that Isr could reach him ? He went softly and embraced
bb ft-et and ki&ed them with tears, saying: 14 My God have mercy
upon me a sinner: and for the merits of this holy man, grant me
to find Thy grace” 1 •

Of course this story is relatively late, and St. Francis’ modern
biographers— Father Culhbert for instance— have exercised a
judicious discretion in exciting tu tnwre extravagant features.
Father Gnthbert tdh its nothing about his being raised to the
height of the beech-tree or his waring almuM out of tight, though
these things are found In the Latin Attut B , Franriwi rf miwum
ri, fr * He confines himself to thr sttucrnenl Unit “ oftentimes
Brother Leo . would find him in ecsuisv lifted aWvc the earth ,, .
and drawing nigh timidly he would kiss (he feet of Frauds/' But
b there any real rvidence that the Saint was raised from the
ground at ail ? Certainly if such a favour was conferred upon any
of Grid 1 ? friends ut should expect the fust recipient of the stigmata

1 Tht Liiiij fhtun. Vv'. Heywwd* trantiiiiinn Mtihuen), p. ijS,

» See Sxhiticr'i ciltitan. 3 +-^ anl acd* 3—7 ; pp 35 “d ‘* 9 -

ttif pimirou. pi lekomen a or irmiiaut

to have been among the privileged one* Stilt presumptions ran riot
late din place of evidence In an inquiry like dik. St. Bcma venture,
writing alxntt tabi* undoubtedly mart data dial the Saint wai
Found praying at night radiant with light and completely lifted
from the ground (tuto corpwt aibUmini a fer/0), 1 But St. Bona*
venture, though hr bad l Kirn appointed la write tile otTLci.il
biography of the Founder of his Order* had never known him
personally; he depended for k«H evidence on others, and in to
much of that evidence sw has been preserved to ug then: i* no
mention of levitation. The dUBculcy is .1 scrfpvw our, for meh
early materials are by no means scanty. We teem to be between
the boms cT a dilemma. Either the Lifting from earth wav a
common feature «f St. Franck’ prayer or it was a supernatural
fgvnur witnessed only on rare occasions. In the former cove-, no
doubt* we call understand better how it may have been passed
over in I Ctdano, dr itt the documents represented by Sabatier's
Sptfulam Pii/Ktivaii, simply because the writers had grown familiar
with this characteristic and iiad ceased to think. of it as a wonderful
miracle such as they evidently considered the Stigmata to
But upon this supposition how are we co explain the fart that when
Orlano about r^5 set about writing a second legend* after diligent
inquiry had lx;m made in order to bring together nil available
material, lie should still have nothing to ray about the Siiint's
tevitutions in -ill dir E(mg rhajitrr !>>- AWta Otiitimit S-Fritnctin 1
which gees into so much minute detail ? He tells us how the Saint
sought out retired places for prayer or made a screen of his cloak,
Jimv in the wilds he groaned aloud and bedewed the ground
his tears* how he treat his breast with a stone, how Id* spirit seethed
with the- ardour of his Jove and his whole being bcc-iuie s r .1 e l* Firmed,
but ra> word L* mid which hints at his 1 icing physically raised from
the ground. It u even implied that Cctano knew of only one
instance in which the Ihci iliat he was in ecstasy was betrayed to
other# We are forced, dim, to the alternative ot 7 believing that

■ BonatcntLi.-e, Vita , Chap l j.3

* CdiiDOy lb n. fa — y ; Ed Akntea# pp. 240—6.

Htvw tsifftfrcly carrfvil wr lure Ed Ik about Icvililua Ippan well

m rhe ax nf VanairA GtliJtalL flJnLcf Maria MupJalrnB Itamnini, araj forty*
boTi dtpnoJ in 17416 i Veronica died in n*T: shat the had heard oWei liiicn
uv Uut V-n-jnlCJi Iti tier Youth luni been ElevjtcU Hi ihe Uye-tup. Yet ekibe
alive ftl wrrn Co fiavr vctliiCvrd aartbinK of the w*t with ibdr flwn

fPfoCn*, j WuuaUFw w of n^ft P- 145 b We Wo i TrccCM, pp. 153 — 6 } Use evidence
of bnlh StrtiT GannLt j|xl frTsnrrsca wllftm UwWtw-ntJy nlln at her infb-nmmtt,
amt (bey tM!f not A wont aboul her licvittliniu. Even llinr evidence RtHCcmlaf
ecuukt u W-11 very cuuneW^'c *jr ttokinp;

LEVITATION

any external revelation of God's miraculous dealings with his soul
was of rare occurrence, and that if Brother Leo really beheld him
raised from die earth he was dierrin wonderfully privileged. In
thb case how can wc suppose that he would have preserved silence
when expressly appealed to, as we know he was, to supply new
details for the Life of their beloved Father, or how could the
information thus collected by Crescemius have failed to hud a
place in Cclnno’s second Ltgauta, or in the Book of MtraeUs , or
in the work of the Three Companions as far as that is traceable t
The plain facts from which we cannot escape seem to be these:
first, that down to tabo, thirty-four yean after the Saint's death,
wc hear no word about any sort of physical levitation; secondly,
that St. Bona venture before 1266 states very simply that in prayer
St. Francis was often radiant with light and raised from die ground*
thirdly, that a later generation, certainly before 1320, declared
that he soared to the tree tops and almost disappeared from view.

It b possible, even, that die story may liave no better foundadon
dmn the accidental use by die early biographers of the word
susptmitbatuT in a figurative sense, meaning that he was entranced. 1
What remains clear is tliat we cannot demand credence for so
stupendous a miracle as interference with the law of gravitation
without better evidence than has so far been furnished by the
surviving records of the life of St. Francb.

Curiously enough, if we turn to the hblory of St. Frauds' great
contemporary St. Dominic the case b very similar. In common
with most of lib modem biographers Mother Frauds Raphael tells
us: “Often, in rapture, he was seen raised above the ground; .
hb hands then moved to and fro as though receiving something
from God, and he was heard exclaiming, * Hear, O Lord, the voice
of my prayer when I cry unto Thee, and when I hold out my hands
to 'riiy holy temple."* Again die same writer in relating the
wonderful resuscitation of young Napoleon, the nephew of Cardinal
Orsitii, uses the words of Sister Caxilio, said to have been an eye¬
witness of the marvel: “ But when he came to the elevation of
our Lord's Body and held It on high between hb hands, a* is the
custom, he liimself was raised a palm above the ground, all
beholding the same, and being filled with great wonder at the
light.” Thb no doubt will appear to many a sufficiently positive

1H Suspeiulebatui multoiiet unci contemplation* dulcedine. ut mpra irmet-
ipnmi nptut, quid ultra hiimantim muum experietmtur nnmm irvclaxrt.*'
II. CcLano G 4 Alcnson, p. ” Suipcndebatur ad coclum," 5p*<uam Puftc-

liaa*. vli. 93 (SaIuHkt, p. 185).

8 the phviical phenomena or mysticism

and plain statement, but it stands without independent confirma¬
tion, it was not written down by Sister Grcdia herself but imparted
to her amanuensis some sixty years after the event, and, as M. Jean
Guiraud points out, " the document requires some modifying ;
there is a tendency towards exaggeration and the marvellous-"
On the other liand we have to take account of the sober, convincing
and infinitely precious depositions made by the intimate friends
and fellow religious of the Saint as early as 1233, twelve yean after
his death. They are not chary of details regarding his wonderful
devotion in prayer. More than one of them had watched him by
stealth when he spent the best part of the night in the church.
They tell us about his groans and sighs, his intense fervour and his
penitential exercises, but there is no word which suggests that he
was ever seen by any of them raised from the ground, or that there
*was any tradition among his first companions that this was known
to have happened The same silence is maintained by all the early
biographer*. It was only some fifty or sixty yean later in Thierry
d'Apoldia, Sister Gecilia and Stephen of Salhanac that we first
find an account of these marvellous upliftings.

Much the same difficulty occurs in the case of a third great
ascetic and founder of a religious Order, St. Ignatius Loyola.
Bartoli beyond doubt narrates how at Barcelona in 1524 the Saint
was seen more than once raised four or five palms from the gTound
while he breathed forth the must burning aspirations of love, and
the whole room was filled with a dazzling light. Moreover tliis
statement rests upon the deposition of Juan Paseual in the process
, of Canonization, and other testimony was given by the Jeromite
nuns of Barcelona concerning similar raptures before die altar of
St. Matthew. Still here again the evidence cannot be called
satisfactory, for Paseual was then a very old man deposing to events
which happened in his early youth, while the nuns could only
testify to the facts at second hand. In the case of St. Francis
Xavier, who is said to have shared the same privilege as his master
Ignatius, the evidence is in some wap rather better, but once more
it is noteworthy dial we find nothing about these raisings from the
ground in the affidavits of the sixty witnesses or so who gave
evidence at Goa, Cochin, Bacaim, and Moluca in 1556, four years
after Xavier’s death. They had all known him personally and had
repeatedly assisted at his Mass, but no startling levitations, it would
seem, h ad ever taken place in their presence. But in die later
inquiries which were held in 1616 their was a good deal of evidence

* Mother ! ; rancu Rspharl t.lJrant), \t Dammu. pp. 760 and MO.

LEVITATION

of this kind, though it is only fair to say that other scenes of the
great Missionary’s labours were now for the first time introduced
into the cause- 1 From these various examples we must, it seems
U> me, draw tlic conclusion that the evidence for levitation in the
rn tr of some very eminent Saints b far from satisfactory.*

No doubt the absence of adequate proof docs not by any means
imply that this mark of die divine favour was never enjoyed by
them, but wc cannot appeal to such cases il vve wish to convince
a sceptical opponent of the truth of the phenomenon. But, to
my thinking, the most satisfactory example of thb phenomenon
is to be found in the case of St- Icresa, the great reformer of
the Carmelite Order, in whose life we shall, 1 think, meet with
evidence iff a very different character. To begin with we have
St. Teresa’s own testimony in the matter. It is contained
primarily in Chapter xx. of the Life written by lirrsclf. Speaking
of the difference between Union and Rapture, the Saint tells us
that rapture is alwolutely irresistible. “It comes, in general, as
a shock, quick and sharp, before you can collect your thoughts,
or help yourself in any way, und you see and Teel it as a cloud,
or a strong eagle rising upwards and carrying you away on
iu wings." That the Saint is speaking not merely of the fact that
the spirit b tom away violently from its sense perceptions and is
overpowered by the trance, but also of the physical elevation of
the body into the air, b made plain by what follows:

I repeat it; you feel and see yourself carried away you know not
whither For though we feel how delicious it b, yet the weakness
of our nature makes us afraid at first ... so trying b it that I would
very often resist and exert all my strength, panicularly at those
times when the rapture was coming on me in public. I did so, too,
very often when 1 was alone, lxxai.se I was afraid of delusions.
Occasionally ! was able, by great efforts, to make a slight resistance,
but afterwards I was worn out, like a person who had been con¬
tending with a strong giant; at other times it was impossible to
resist at all; my soul was carried away, and almost always my
head with it— 1 had no power over it —and now and then the who .'
body 03 util, so Oust it was H/UJ up from the ground.

The meaning of die words l have italicized cannot possibly be

i those procetse* in U»e Monumenta XaiensM, Vol. II.

• St. Stamslaui aUo w*. .aid to be levitated, but the mdem* w» only tshen
thirty -one yean after Ua dralii. (.hu/. Boll. Vol. I. uu. »4*)<

io titk physical. phenomena of iflEFn&SM

mistaken. .Yftcr tiib Si T Teresa kcc* on to make reference eo an
incident which is probably the same as one mentioned by her
fjo^rapher Yepcs. 3 Bishop Alvaro de Mendoza wau giving Com-
mLiriJCio to the mms at their tumalgalorw (tJt. the aperture in
the wall of the choir through which they received Communion)
when the Subii was suddenly rapt in ecstasy and, Ixdu^ irresistibly
lifted up from the ground a I rave lire height of the aperture, ihc was
in consequence finable to cainnuinitaie. At any rate die herself
tails m .

This (the being lifted up into the air) hua not happened to me
often: once. however, it Look place when we were ;dl together in
choir, and I, on my bices, on the point of communicating. It was
,i very >ort distress to me; for l thought it a most CJttmordinary
thing ziEid waa Ej.fr.ud it uould occasion much talk; sen I com¬
manded the nuns—for it happened after I was made Prioress—
never so pH ^k of it, But at olhci times, the moment I frit that our
Lord was about u» do the same thing again, and once in particular
during a rcrmnn—it vm the feast of our house, some great ladies
being present— i I threw jriysdfon the ground; then die nuns came
round to hold me; but idlL the rapture wan observed*

X made many ^applications to our Lord, that He would be
pleased to give me no more of Ouae grace* which were outwardly
visible; for it was a grievous affliction to me that people should
make so much of me, and because His Majesty Could honour me
with His favours without their becoming known* 1 It seems that,
of Hi? goodness. He had f^ecri pleased to hear my prayer; for 1
have never been enraptured nince. It is injc that it was not lone
ago.

In the same chapter the Stint speaks of the efforts she had made
to icsisi these ecstasies, and especially tlicir physical effects, The
whole is too long to quote, but I may call attention to such detached
sentences as.the following:

U seemed to me, when I tried to make acme resistance, as if a
great force beneath my feet lifted me up ... I confess that it threw
me into great fear, very great indeed at first; Tor in seeing one's

1 Yepa, Viit, rbtikks t Affia&Ht 1-, cKap. *v. Bab up Y«o w*i & ctmtem-

porjxv wl»fl tiv w Si. 'I mr'-t well

1 Mr. Dirid Lewis Kr.m* m thw JJi^c (□ Jmvt btm IrarddlW frous
bmicTdt text. I iu,ve mmfiliei hi* tttjmn Here ia acttrrd&Ifet with thr fsoirniie
rt3ihr«n of St flUtifttxph.

LF.VITATlOPf

body thus lifted cep from the earth, thatch the spin! draws it
upwards alter itself farsd that with great sweetness if umemted),
the- senses .ire no r Ic^t; at least I was m much myself as to be able
to see iliac 1 was being lifted up, . After Hi- rapture was over*
l have to sav that my body seemed frequently ju be buoyant, as
ir all weight hat! departed from it, mi much so thui now and then
I scarcely knew that io> Feet lunched the ground.

One thing remain* quite clear from this description and from the
whole chapter, and that i* that St. Teresa, lieinj? perfectly ctm-
vcbiu of the physical effect of levitation produced on many occa-
siutit by tilde rapture** penitently fought gainst all such exterior
manifestations which betrayed her privileged condition as a friend
of God uud made hei appear singular. J hr kuhc attitude
mind, 15 wr shall flee, was conspicuous in many (if the other great
m vs tics who enjoyed similar favours. Secondly* it h to be noted
dial there can be no possible doubt that we have here (he actual
winds arid thoughts of St- Itraa hersrlf. I have before me* as
1 write* the facsimile edition of the Saint's own autograph copy;
the same, in fact, as was submitted to the ccnwn of the Inquisition
during her life-time. We find reproduced In this volume her nwn
characteristic handwriting emending over four hundred pages*
together with a facsimile of the vnnifa, a Iiighly favourable judg-
mriii, >f lather Domingo Billies, the inquisitor who in 1375
examined die volume and subscribed lib name, 1 Thirdly, ii b
well tn bear in mind that after 1561I* when this autobiography was
completed, the Saint T i raptures, as ihc on more than one oeca-tcm,
stated, became notably less frequent, though they did not entirely
cease. But in any case after that date the external tmuiiicstatiom
which Ixrtrayed These ecstatic conditions to nthas were few and
Tar Iwtwecn. This will help to explain the comparativelv small
number of wiloesses whr, in the episcopal inquiries antecedent to
die process of benlifKiition and canooi/aimn, were able to depute
ihm they bad with their own eyes l>ehcld the Saint raised from the
ground in ecstasy. The taking «f these informatiowi was only
begun tn nr 159b, thirteen years after the death of Ttrcia

anti thirty years after the writing of die book from which we have
I seen making extraus. If a* *hc implies* her raptuie* In public
had at no tiinw lMafrai|iLgil. it could hardly be expected that many

‘'IliLi book vm juJiiiinil.ib reproduce*] by a pfaotfftr*|>hic proees in H?3
I'Aeuntlo 01 Madrid ixhnjf die piibUihm} untief ihr «tii<wihljs of Dwi Vicente

ife lii filial tE

[3 THE PHYSICAL PttEXOmtft* OP XYTTfttftH

of the actual eye-witness® would ihrrt be surviving to give I heir
testimony, None the less, evidence Csf a rdhhh- kind wav not
ladiing, and I may conclude this present article by qu rtiru; »«ne or
two ipoeimeru. Per evimplr, Skier Anne of thr In .imuiinn, at
Segovia in hri deposition, made like the sen under oath, Mates:

On another occasion between one and two (./dock in the day-
iliac 1 wj,' in the choir waiting for the be El to i ng when our holy
Mother entered and knelt down for perhaps the half of a quarter
of an hoar, As 1 wn looking on . she w.is raised about half a y ard
from the ground without her feet i one King it. At this I was
terrified and she, for her part, was trembling all over. So 1 moved
to where she was and 1 put tny hands under her fet!, over which
1 remained weeping for some; hill'' Sik-e h.tlf an hour while tile
cestaty lasted* Then suddenly die sftjsfc down and rcstu-l on her
feet and turning her head round to me she asked me who l was and
whether 1 had been there all the while* l mid yes, and then she
ordered me under obedience to say nothing nf what f had seen,
and I have in fact said nothing until the present moment* 1

This is a perfectly sample and straightforward piece of evidence
The incident happened in brand daylight, there could have been
ivi anticipation nf any supenirtiural mnnifeNtiition of the ion, no
subtle suggestion. Tile BoSUijdisij, giving refercnccri, dec bee that
several wilno«a deposed us simiUt instant es. 1 Bishop Ycpo, who
knew tier well, recall? in hi? Vida dt Sonia Tersm another occasion
. when the Saint, struggling against an ecstasy which came uti jusl
ai’uv she Jjad received Communion. mad*: a dc&pcruic clutch at
the bur^ of the grille as she wu riling in the air and in great distress
of mind tried to God, Lord, for it thing 'it’ mo little consequence
a* is my being bereft of this favour of Thine, do not permit n
creature so vile as I am to be taken for *i holy woman." On
another occasion, he goc* <-m, when a rapture suddenly came upon
her in choir,, ihe clutched at the rtLU, tttrras) on the flour and was
railed up into the air with ihem still in her tumdi* 31 Marie tie San
iutolher contemporary and Friend of the Saint, declares in
certain manuscript notes, still un primed, which Mir hat cv.-unined,

1 I cju'.ir ilii> From M Mu. HAi it Sank Tow Madrid, IjncV, I. p. i86,
IV ira i h *!» in (he tiblrai* V-i*. VI. p~ ltd, Cf p, afij* * 7*.

* *4,1 Si. Del* VljI. vii. j.. Wi. They ci te 1 en mpiiai c .1 irpodiumj UnfucuinateJlj'
I have net j\U.r. l** i-oiuLih thr tM" ihe*£,

1 Yep^. ¥&* fli I thiip ifr

LEVJTA rlUN

iliai Mother Maria Eapcum had an two different occasions seen
i H T Imbvcd superior raised fircim the ground. 1

But tl n? whole rase is very much strengthened by the targe number
of other holy ascetics besides St. Teresa of whom similar and mm h
more wonderful levitations are recorded upon quite trustworthy
evidence*

The import inee of her case lies in the fact that nul only was she
jeen by others raised in the air, but that she bmsdf bore witucs io
thr realitv of these Iirvitarions. At the time no one who hai
studied her life and writings will he disposed to question richer Itej
good faith or her cxtdjciU common sense It b equally dear tli.it
all self-advertisement was remote from her thoughts. If she wrote
any account of her raptures* chi* was only to help others and In
entire submission to ihe judgment of her spiritual directors* St.
Teresa'i mystical experience and intellectual gifts were to ex¬
ceptional at to lend special weight to her uttemncd, but it is worth
white pointing out that she is not the only one who has left a
description of choc physical uplifting* written from the point of
view of the subject who experienced them. Here, for example. u
an extract from a letter ofSuor Maria Viliam, a famous Dominican
nun in the seventeenth century, hrririf a candidate for be.itiflec¬
tion:

On one ncradon [she informs her director] when I wa» sn my
cell I wav roiiiCUJW of a new experience. I Iclt myself adzed and
ravished out of my icnw« and that to powerfully that I found
myself lifted up completely by the very soles of my feet, just as the
tinu<itei draws up a fragment of iron* but with a gentleness dial
was marveUoiti and mo t delightful. At hr?.! l fell much fear, hut
.ifurrwtirdt I remained in the greatest possible contentment and
je»y or spirit, Though I was quite beside my»df (fro thr (taro fuma
uill. in spite of that, I knew that 1 wus rahrd ™mc distance
above the earth, my whole body being suspended lor a considerable
space of time. Down to last Christmas eve (1618) this happened
to me on five different occasion^. 5
1 The same dooMe aKeitilfan t* available in the leJr- of Sx.C*hKriae vf

ihr rhzlot* dnp iv> ed. Gigli lr; 3 *n. IV- p- $601 and aim c.\np. 73-
= UM (Sda. r *.«*»!>>., .1-1™ IW (N.poli nu).

PP V 3 - 1 *

tjif. j-uYsiu m I'rJi^DlHCvv 01 MVSncev

As Stior Maria went on to inform her confess that she had
obtained the grace from heaven that these favours should not
become known lu others* and m satisfactory evidence is Licking
that she was ever seen uplifted frerm tin: ground, we arc houtid to
receive this statement with a certain amount of caution. Even so
illustrious a Saint as Mary Magdalen de'PtUEO had curious illusions:
as to her physical mmorenc a fnam earth when in llie trance slate,
She shnu led at the top of htt voice when a f jurat ion was addressed
to het by 11 bystander, and then was heal'd uiying tu herrclf" they
can't hear me down there; it is too far ofT." On the other Land
this great rustic wit* beyond doubt in tome way exempt from
ordinary physical law*.

She went jwrifrt her confessor, Father Opart | wilh incredible
swiftne-j from one place to Htiudirr, mounting and descending the
tttiirs with inch Agility that she Mfrymni rather to fly than to touch
the earth with her feet, She ‘prang securely on to die must
danger^-as places, ir- when, in. tile fbm af ihr Invention of the
(In.'S, May % 1592, die ran into the choir and without human
help or any suit of ladder leapt on to the cornice . . - the height of
wiiich front the tfoo] k about flit ecu iWrcnr (jj% t about 30 feet]
whilst in breadth it is not more than the thin! of a kra&us. From
this, she with perfect safety took down the crucifix and having
unfastened the figure from the cross she placed it in her hoaoro,
clasped it to her and then brought it to the mutt to kis5 t surd taking
off her veil, wiped it as though [l lud been covered with sweat*
.action* which in such a lit nation would have made anyone cLie's
brain nerL 1

St, Mary Magdalen dePazri ha* left no description of her
feeling Or degree of corociouroeH in die state of ecstasy, due
another Saint, St. Philip Neh, who was her con temporary, and
who undoubtedly on mam fKradrni was seen raised from the
ground at M&sv and At adier rimes, seems to liavc given some
trie-iiurr of c us fide nee 10 his bejnvrd diMipIr Father Crdlnnio. 1
At any nik diis Father, writing mfy five yean alter Philip** death,
it&tra that ih he (Philip) ,di reward* explained on cite of these
occasions that it seemed to him os if he had been caught hold of by
someone viiid in some sti»jige way had been lifted by force high
.lfuvc the ground. J The ,wcourt Li given by GaQuiup, BjucI and

■Crpiri, J TM di S , Mafthiitm 4t' Pozzi. pp. Bz—3.

* Art -Vi'.. May, Vol. VI, pp 1&5, v&t, 5,5a

LEVITATION

the othei biographer* le.ive die impression. ihat, like St. Teresa*
Philip resisted these rapture? to the utmost of bis power, but was
not alway* successful in foreseeing mid forestalling them.

So far aj regards the law of gravitation in itself, it does not
greatly matter whether an ecstatic is raised above die ground three
Inches or thirty feet, and we have as much MUD to be impressed
if such an incident happens once as if it happened fifty lima.
Still it is very natural that a flight to the tree tops or to a distance
of many yards, especially d the experience be several times repeated,
should tic more widely bruited abroad than the manit^taiimis we
read of in the lives of St. Philip or Si. Tcteui. Hence when Mr,
Andrew Lang and other students of psychic phenomena discuss the
subject or mystical levitations it is nearly always St. Joseph of
Copertmu In whom they make appeal in this connection, Cci,
tainly* if we may Ernst the published narratives of ha Life, hi* is by
(hr the most astounding case of levitation of which we have any
record. It would be Impossible to give a detailed account of his
elevations .nd Right*, which seem to have been observed on more
than a hundred different occasion*. * U U possible, limvnrer, that
there msv be cons hie rail It: rxaggCIjitfQfl in wlurt the witnesses tell
us of au incident at the Grotclb friary near Cupertino, thus related
by his biographer FftStrovtcchL It Detuned when a Calvary was
being erected there by the friars.

Two crosses were already placed, but ten person* with united
Effort could not raise the third which was 34 palms high (about
36 feet) and very' heavy. On seeing this, Joseph, full of ardour,,
flew about eighty paces (70 yards t from the door of the friary to
the cross* lifted it as easily as if it were a itraw, and placed it in the
hole prepared for It. These crosses were the object of his special
devotion, and from a distance of ten or twelve paco, he, drawn by
hit crucified Saviour, would rise to one of the amis on the top of
the cross, 5

I think dial there may wdl he a good deal nf exaggeration here,
not only fro m the astounding nature of the incident in itself, btit
also ftp die fact that, though reference h made lo the depositions
taken at Nardo in the Jttbeea* of beatific a lion, dir witnesses do not
■can to have been cye-wltnesso. Moreover; a* tlie Saint left

1 Mere dmtt •evenly «f tS**s are rderred lo hi* enriy life «t Cratrllii, nwr
Co per ri no, in tfre cnwnc wuib ol Iialy.

* AjLSS., Sept- Vul V. p. IWI * f Beniinf- iFd '75?- P ■*V 5
not 80.

Tin PimiCAL PlItJtQMFNA QT MYTHClSV

Copertino tn 1638, never la return, the Calvary imut have been
erected some thirty years—probably in m e—before thin evidence
was given, Such an internal leave* plenty of rime for til son- of
legends to grow up, which soon become, in a quite uncritical
atmosphere, a matter of implicit faith More credence may be
given to the stories related of thr Saint during hi* sojourn at Asiiii

u 639-53)-

When, in 1645, the Spanish Ambassador to the Papal Court, the
High Admiral of Castile, passed through that town It:- visited
Joseph of Gopcrtmo in his ceil. After conversing with him he
returned to the church and (old his wife “ 1 have seen and spoken
with another Si, Francis. 1 ' As liis wife then expressed a great
desire to enjoy rise same privilege, the Father Guardian gave Joseph
rfn order 10 go down to the church and speak with Her Excellency,
To this he mode answer ” [ will obey, but 1 do not know whether
1 shall he able to speak with her." hi point of fact no hntl

he entered the church than hii eyes rested on a slatur of Mary
liiitnaeulatc which stood over rile altar, and he At once flew about
a doacm, paces over the heads of those present to the foot of the
statue, Then after paying homage there for some short space and
uttering his customary shrill cry' he flew back again and straightway
returned to hit cell, leaving the Admiral, Ids wife and the Large
retinue which attended them speechless with astonishment. 1

Now this story is accompanied in the biographies bolh of
Fsistroviechi and of Bcmirin with a great array of references to the
depots)dons in the process, and it it expressly staled that ihcsc were
made by wimesses *' dc viau " who had been actual spectators of
the *L-cne. Still more trustworthy is the evidence given of the
Saint's levitatinm at Osimo, where he spent the last m years of
his life. There his fdbw-religiom saw liim fly up seven or eight
feet into the air to kiss the mtuc of die Infant Jesus which stood
over tile altar, and they told hdw he carried ofF this was image in
hii arnu and floated about with Ej in lib cell in every conceivable
attitude. On out occasion during these last years of hit life he
caught tip another friar in his flight and carried him some distance
round the room, and this indeed he is stated to have done on
several previous occasions. In the very Last Mass which he ede-
br.ited, on the festival of the Assumption, 1663, a month before
his death, he waj Lifted, up in a longer rapture than usual. 3 For

* Fiutujvieehi in Acta Saxtons*, Sep. VoL V, p. tOtiS.

■ pp 1040-2

}_£vrrATVJ‘i

these facts wc hive the evidence of several eye-wkn esses who made
ihrif dcpChnl(-iona, ^ usual uiitjci oatii. only ft>ur or five years Uwr,
It U very difficult io believe that they could have been dccckcd as
in tile broad fact that the Saint did float m die a£r, as they were
convinced they had seen him (Jo* under every possible variety of
conditions and in many different surroundings.

It is much to be regretted m the case of .St. Joseph of Gopmino
that the printed record of tin process of cnnouizatitiUi or a) my
rate that portion of it known os ihc f'Vuifis -uptff rfuhto tie Viftutikus
with its Summanum, is a book of eetnusrdmary rarity It has
recent! v been stated tiwt only two ropies are known to lunivc, 1
still there can be no doubt that the record exists, and wiiat lends it
a quite r emar kable importance is the lact that Prosper Lumber tin!,
afterwards Pope Ben edict XIV, who is the supreme authority c#
ovulate r and procedure iu cauuBiratkm causes, had personally
studied all die detail* of the case. When the cause came up for
discT-tion before live Congregation of "Rues, he was frwmtor
fidri (popularly known as the Devil's Advocate)* and his " atxJ-
tfijill w wMmt ** upon the evidence submitted arc said to have been
of a. most searching diameter. 1 None ihe less we tnuM liehcve
that these criticisms were answered to hU own complete satisfaction,
far not only was it he himself who, when Pope, published in 17^3
ihe decree of Beatification, but iti hb great work D* Stt-wum Dn
BmtiferUtmt, tie., he speaks as follow , l

Whilst I discharged the office of Frnmoior of Use Faith the cause
nr the venerable Servant of God, Joseph of Cnperlmc. any up tbt*
dbeuMion iti the Congregation of Ssictttl Rites, which ifipf my
retirement was brought to a favourable conclusion, and in this
tft-mtntssts of unthalltngtabh integrity gave evidence of the famous
Uplifting? from the ground and prol mged flights of the aforesaid
Servant of God when rapt in ecstasy. 1

There can be no doubt that Benedict XIV, a eritical!y-mitided
man, who knew tlic value of evidence and who had studied the
original depositions a* probably no one clf.r Jrnd rtiidled them.

1 Sff F- s Lain;;, J». Jmpti tf GtfiHint (Herder* 51. Ixmii: tcpftjj p- i*-
the Iniroduetion to the Frtncli rdiiion t>f FAH-rovkccbi** L ifr, [f$aa,
Per editor bad m ha hand* a copy -1 1 hx 4mma±mmti,

1 “ ia qua into eiuni exfeptiaie mijoni et ocuLuti cdcberrimai » letra
dwattone* ei ir^aiie* fflfcttW relukrnml (tfl wt KrWJ Dei
li* *f, Dei Btui'fitaliMt, &C- III, W lift, 9 tU l ist hy Fwtcttvicdu. to full
<.f ttiermm to ihj- proofs*. wai jrttblkhm by Dojedld i finder.

t ft 'flip. pjTVJIiiAl MiENnMXJJA. l>¥ MY J 3TI(MSM

lieltcved that the wtaueae* of Si. Joseph’s levitations had really
idcn what ihey professed to have seen. 1 U it idm certain, as Mr.
Lang points out* 4 tiuic. these witnesses made their depositions upon
oaili.it Qumo, Assisi and other places in 10115- w say only
two years aftei the Saint's death.

For another great ecstatic, St. Peter de Mcantarn, of whom
marvellous flights an: recounted by hi^ biographers, it must lie
frankly admitted that nn very &atkfat:tory evidence h at present
producible. Breather John of Santa Maria, the author uf the
earliest detailed history of hi* life and work* printed his book in
1615 , whe-rea*! the Saint had died hi 1562 , fifty.three years earlier*
St. Term had *ecn him once rapt in ecstasy* but though her
words imply something more than an nnfimiry trance* she does
explicitly say that he was lifted from the ground } Still it is
to my thinking incredible that in the atmosphere of attsierity and
truth which surrounded the early years of St. Peter of Alcantara’s
reform, a quids baseless legend can have grown up regarding hU
flight* through the air. It is stated by all bis biographers that in
choir he wra sometimes wren raised fifteen feet or mere above the
Door until his held touched the roof. On other occasion* he
soared like a bird to llte top of the trees, or was projected ihnsugh
narrow doorway* like an arrow from a bow, or again (lew tip with
anni outspread to embrace a crucifix on a high eminence. The
very details given (far example* of the startling cry, creating terror
rather thpm devotion lu those present . 1 with which, as in the case
cf Su Joseph of Co pert tun. these extraordinarv ih^hm began] do
Hot seem likely to have been invented for purpose* of edification.
St Peter of Alcantara in Spain died a whole century before St.
Joseph ofCopcrtino died in Italy, and yet in many features, though
not in :dl, their aerial ntpUnro show a. dose correspondence.
Undoubtedly the best confirmntinn of such marvellous incident* as
those just spoken of lies hi the fact that trustworthy evidence of
other elevations, the same in character 1 hough posibly less in

I Gtawim Ikmiittl drU4 Oinrrciyru:. the rriopmer of [lie diicxlc^d Tttni-
tuimf, who dirtl in llill itijvd lifty.|v.n, u« nknrol to icnvbble M Jorcph
of Cofraiino fof hi* *rnal m^urcs, ihough noi u exirsvigant io flight- These
f n wrre Ij> Itjdn and Erapaiice. See ttrtliiuinio dj S. Lulfi,

nM del S. {riambatUitsi (RtKM lliian) from the pTqMj, cap. |>p. and >47,

'Awlnw Lug, Gut £dv and Qrmmm .Sour { ji. (Of.

1 “ Tmu i:r nudes n_jTE>b.mrvrti 1 01 y inprliu .te ainor dr Diua. tie c]ik vn
7 ® fig to&gd." Life UTitlm \iv hrtsdf. chap, IXvii

* AAJtS^ Oct- VaL Vttt pp, &;i- 764—3. Iithuuia de Santa Mima imyi;

" Nim wo nkluil (Jmmorfi udeti tcnilkw Cl Imibila m horrore percij term HIT
fjfiiirn .juotiej coi (*rrc sprivni.,," etc. ibid, 671.

IF.VJTATLOV

degree, Li available- in the Jleadlkanon processes of numerous oilier
Saints of runic recent date. The printed volumes containing these
records are not vhv readily tuct willi litre in Enjjlflfid, but l nmy
illustrate from ant or two processes which arc accessible to me
i(te kind fit testimony which thin supply.

A nnlier sirikinif illuiii aiioh, which wc have lately come Across,
of the necessity for caniiort in dealing with thew marvel* calls for
notice here. It occurs in the published Life uf the \ t ncT^hlc
Amhouy Marj^l, .1 hah Kranci >■ an rm**j unary m Mexico and
Guatemala, who died in 1716. The Ufe professes to be founded
entirely an the deposition* taken hi the procci* of beatification and
.r was compiled at Rome by the MM Pmttdaioi of the Came
who must, t necessity, have been intimately acquainted with the
Available evidence- 1 Onr would, therefore* be disposed to regivi
the ituifinrnLi nf litci c^hujukI in it as exceptionally tmstwni ihy,
and altnojt a> though they were coveted by the papa! decree:
printed at the end of the volume which declares Father Anthony
Margil to have p rue died all Christian virtues in a heroic degree.
In tui engraving prefixed to the Life a portrait of Father Margil
may be found in which he is represented floating in die air together
with a devout diem, and although a closer inspection reveals that
thu picture has reference to an alleged tiufutiilotis escape iev.hu the
Indians whidi Look place after ilic My man's death, die casual
reader can hardly fail to find in it wune conncctiuti with the many
kvitatiom attributrd to him in his life-hiite. Of th<r-r dir bio¬
grapher speakr ill the following passage:—

A feoul which was so inflamed with die fove of God could not Tail
lo be constantly absorbed by celestial delight anti ravished out of
itself in the ecstasies which are the ordinary privilege of Christ* s
holy servants. Of those happy transports he had flmiiliar experi¬
ence, and very often it happened lluit bis soul in the vehemence
of it* flight towards God carried with it heavenwards the dead
wcijhl of the body, ■ that he was actually raised from the ground*
Father Simon dr Hierro, who was long hk companion, deposed to
having seen Jiim many times in great raptures while lie prayed.
Maria Trrio watched him praying at Ad&es five or six inches above
die earth, and John de Amiiso saw him in the same district raised
nearly a foot in the air while he was saying Mass* In Mexico on

j Mu frft fklfa pfrf &<*tl t Miroxfli dJ Tm. Stria £ Dia Ft* .twtenrt Aff|A

tf Gwv, Atisfepfr Afintobf* 44? 0/A- ,Sf SJU*t Otmtmii, **#** *4

f* l* eatua dtih >wi Jid /*• h- Owtpf* Aft™ kniwan, i *™r-

Eatnrjr dill* C; itatfl, ttxsssJJ 1 . iS^ti-

THE PimiCAL MJWOHBMA OF MYSTICISM

fjtie occasion, liming been admitted into the rnnvrnt of the IW
CLitrH to hear a sick nun's confession, he was lifted a cample of feet
from the floor ss her exhoned In? pesriteM tr. practise conformity
with the divine wilt. Rose dc Rivera in the lamr; city related dial
more dun once the good Father, on posing tlirough tier garden
and meditating on ihc. perfections of God who btd created such
beautiful flower?., tagan to cry out: " Wondrrful ! wonderful! "
and as lie ¥«d this hii wlinle body was raised from the ground, 1
Further it wbu there also* in the gcea t primy tkdi 1 itM to Si. Frauds*
lhat Brother Jerome Garda, early erne morning when he whs
f allin g the religious to ri&o feu Mathis, felt a violent draught blowing
through the choir jjid apparently coming from the direction ■ f the
chinch tower. Looking to discover the cause, he Found the servant
c^God raised in the air with arms extended in the Form of a cross,
gyrating tout'd and round with incredible velocity, lit Guatemala
Father Joseph Paniagua saw him radiant with celestial glory, white
John of Jesus Surratne Himesa* having had occasion ntv night to
took fox him in lire church, found him ihtrr suspended so high
above the ground that ihr skirts of his liable bruited die intruder'*
head M otwrer* tltc unite witness* on another occasion, whilst
serving hb Mass, having noticed that the whole altar was shaking
after the consecration, raised, hi* eyes to the celeb rani and saw
that lie was Lifted a foot And a half from the prcdclhu Hr was so
dared bv what he luui witnessed that the holy priest when he came
cut of hfr cesucy had to bang Ids hand against the altar to rouse
hb server to attend to lua duties.®

Xmv it happen* that by an unusual chance the Iftitkh Museum
possesses i copy of the three volume* of the PosiUo mptr Vimhbm
for the IjcatUVrafion of Father Margil, containing ihr iwmmanam
anrl the argum citation based thereupon; in otlicr words, we have
in these volumes so much of the depositions of the original witnesses
ai is ever printed fur ihr n^e of the oojisuIlots of tile Gongicgaiirjn
of Kits- A oafitpnrison of the biography with the sources upon
which it is based thus become possible and prove* to be curioiJily
instructive* To begin with, the Father Simon dr Hierro* referred
to in the above, exuuct ui lung the companion of \Ltrgil, gave
evidence himself :n Mexico in 1757, thirty-one years after the death
of rhr hoU missionary* He spoke in the nsr>u eiithuiti.uiiic terms

* .’liWi.'isit?tun AdditiurmU. p. i«8; Httd JBrr.Ti.ihsim, p. 177,

■ G- M. fiiomnft, >< \i:ii lihtt FlCr di Ft. Antitfo 12 4 - G . *Jli* vyIloIc

rvklcflid upon nliidt tho itrjmub will be tbun-i m the- £c^i«±Lir*, pp, 14^77.

LEVITATION

,jf i]ic Father's spirit of prayer, of hb untiring zeal, of the austerity
of lus Life. of hts deprivation of deep, etc,, hut not one word in this
deposition mggatt that Father MargiL ever hail ecstasies or was
seen raised from the ground, WliiU we do find, however, is that
before tiie iN Apostolic s> Gotumi^nmi some years bier when Father
Hierro hiimHf was dead, two witnesses declared that they had
heard Father Simon Hierro ray tbit Father Margil had frequent
ecstasies and was ji?t«ctimes lifted up ittlO the air- In other worth,
thb intimate EH end and eaijipaniun of the huly matt h represented
lV bearing wi|nen to thing* which, when he was liixmdf being
examined and upon h» oath, he never ventured to affirm. And
ilie whole evidence for the levitations proves to be of this diameter;
it b either nwre hearsay or, on the face ofit. untrustworthy. For
example, it i true lhat Mima iVeto and John de Armisn .nc statqrf
to have witnessed these uplifting* in die air, but they nevet made
any such deposition themselves. They Imd apparently died before
the inquiry took place. Ad we know is that one M. ion Marline/,
a witness who was nearly eighty yean ol age, depmrd in 177^ that
he had Iwarti them so; he did not remember when pr where. 1
But per hups the most surprising testimony ia dual of John uf Jems
Surraine Binicsa, who is m complacently dtal at die dose of die
extract inanshted al?ove, Ft i- uue that he professed to report
fret* or which he had himself been au eye-wimcs*, but he gave his
evitlcnecai tluiUrmabiii 1771(orty-fivt years after Father MargiFt
,l C4 ih 1 and, ,'A the SwnmariiiTH expressly informs ics Birrksa was at
ihm tjjmr nyean old, Xcilhei was the old man content
w bh declaring that in serving Father Marges Mass he hud bchelct
hint raised in the air, he staled in lib deposition that while thus
elevated lie saw upon his head a crown of thorns with blood
trickling from h t all which disappeared when the Father tame 10
himself and continued the Maas. 1 Though therr w ere some forty
witnesses examined in the tint " ordinary " pm i-« held ui Guada¬
lajara and Guatemala within twenty years t*Tthe missionary’* death,
not one of them suggested at that time dial ativ Levitation pheno ¬
mena had been seen nr heard of hi cow ■ 4 b Father MargLb

Tht only hint of anything of the sort appears in the statement of a
Father, who had acted -w his confessor, to die effect that After the
comet: ration erf the Miss he flushed deeply and trembled so
violently that lie seemed to be strangling to prevent himsdl from

* .'ifHWSJTIttT, p- 173.

1 t’w.r.m.rnll IH p J+>7J .VlCWilitrtlUfl 4 ] t’ I 36.

THE PHraCM dOGtOtfENA OF MYStlClSH

riling iu the air, 1 Obviously this evidence proves nothing, 'Flic
same convulsive uiovemcnli aftex the rievaUbu vverc nmcd in a
holy and wdl-known religions priest who died in London very
recently. Unquestionably Father Anthony Majjil, though ap¬
parently he has noi yet 1«en beatified, was a man of most saintly
life and of apostolic rxal T and it is quite possible that he may some-
timer have hern raised from the ground. Al the safflc liimi, after
a vary careful study of the deposition*, we must point out that there
Jj nothing in the testimonies adduced which justifies such a con¬
clusion. With the tingle exception of thfc statement of the nonp-
genarian Bimesa, every one of the incidents recounted in the above
extract depend* upon hearsay evidence given long after the event.

St, Bernardino Rcalino, S.J.> died at Levee in Southern Italy in
In the inquiry held at Naples itt ifisi, Signor Tolias da
route, a gentleman of rank and high character* deprad upon oath
that in the year (ScjS or thcnmlnjuts hr came to Lecce to ask die
spiritual help of this venerable and hdy priest. It was, said the
wimes, a Saturday in April after Easter* Ttie Father'* dour
seemed to be closed to visitors, and accordingly Signor Tobias tools
- in a lobby which was just outside hh room. At he sal with
hi, ry& on the room door, he noticed that the door wax nut com-
plnely dint and dun through the aperture a certain glow or
radiance of light was streaming. This appearanee puzzled him
and he began to wonder whether there could be a fin: within.
Accordingly he drew near and pushed thr door a little further open
in oidet to prep into the room, 'ITiereupcm he perceived Father
f Bernardino in a kneeling attitude before hh pric-dieu, Kit lace
turned towards botven^ his eyes rimed and his whole body lifted
a good two and a half feet al>ove ihr Jlooi (.rxi <irrrt Iotlmitu tin qutttltn
butm po!m tapnt), while, rapt in ecstasy as hr was. hr kept repeating
I He*? words: Gerti Maria j ini* bt mia cumpagnia. The witness then
drrfribrd the feelings bT revermee mingled with fair which led
Him , after gazing for a while at this spectacle. to dusk away Hume
like a culprit, though he had time to notice again the radiance
which streamed from the room through the partly opened doorway.
So far I have summarized thr report, but now 3 translate textually:

firin g asked to take good heed and bethink himself whether all
lh,u lie had described was not rather an halhirinatfun or fancy of
bii fcultfn and whether the mifianrt and light he load wen was not
a reflexion uf the mu'* ray* nr an ocular deception or sonic other

* Spnunsr?!, ji. 147.

LxvrrATWN

natural effect, hr answered: "The thing was so clear* unmis¬
takable and real, that not only do 1 teem to see it still but 1 am
25 emain of h oa I am of peeking new, Of of seeing the things
around me. ... I notice..! the light coming through the doorway
not only once, but twice, thrice and four times, before thr shadow
of any such idea occurred to me* And so l began, to debate with
myself bow there could be any fire in the room, since the rays
which issued from it could only be caused by a great fire* juii as
'when die blacksmiths at their forge are hammering the red-hot
iron on the anvil, and so 1 stood up on purpose and pushing open
the door I saw with my own eyes Father Bernardino raised from the
5 as unmistakably .is 1 now see your Ifii wirioils Lordship. . * **

And being again ndmofthhed and bidden to be careful not to be
led. by any mistaken sense of devotion to exaggerate or to represent
the facts otherwise than as they really were, became the vtini> had
no need of such perverse dmmpioualiip, but on the contrary are
displeased thereby, and bring asked again whether any part of his
statement needed modification* he replied: What I have deposed
ts the whole, pure and unvarnished truth, without fiction or
exaggeration, and it $cem> to me -i snail matter in comparison with
the sanctity, virtue and miracles of l ather Bernardino," 1

The witness was further questioned as to the situation of Father
Bernardino's room, and he seems in reply to have given precise
and satisfactory details.

Now I otn unable to tay how Gar this account h representative
of the usual handling of witnesses in the episcopal process of*
inquiry—the proceeding* arc not generally reproduced in, the
summaries so fully as this is—but even one such specimen may be
sulfidem to show that dice investigations were entered upon with
a serious purpose of arriving at the actual facts. In the case,
therefore, of biograpliJea which are fo unded upon the bcailficatioB
processes of dtr Iasi three centuries* it seem* lo me that the states
merits made are not lightly to be «t aside* even when precise
references to the pruned page are not given. It k impossible to
discus* the subject -adequately in a few words, but I may mention
as a personal impression that in looking through the score or
two of such printed processes as arc accessible to me t have
fo und very httle trace on the part of witnesses or commkdonen of a

1 &wt[/roalUHtil rl V.S-D Bmriirifiji Mmt, ,7J. Janontamm rbfirt

tf*6w an asuAI dt nfunikt, etc, (Romr tSlS), pir- JIW-S, f quote from a rrprUn
wf ilv* vnhtaie, which <tigirJiUy ^ij^rrii in thr NghTccnib vetttury.

HIE PHYSICAL PlItNOMKNA Of MVSTIOSH

desire ro manufacture evidence uf marvels- IT inch a tendency
occasionally betrays itself, the Promotur of the Faith m ha Arii-
Tnadr*Tsimei is not dhtid to draw attention lo iL in the frankest
terms- This restraint is especially noteworthy in the witnesses dc
eta, who B avr evidence in the " Ordinary " processes held wsbin
a few veari of the SaiiiO dentil. The witness in the M Apostolic J ‘
proee^ej of I ala 1 elate who could testify to nothing at first hand, bat
only related die stories they had heard from Others, or the lioditinm
prevalent in the locality, are in some instances oWiomly inclined
to exaggerate.

So far as die fact of levitation h concerned* the case of St,
Bernardino Eealhw is not Wflly & strong one. As the Pramitter
Fiiin pointed out in Ids anhnadv'ciidiins, the Signor Tobias da
Ponte, whose evidence 1 have quoted, was the only witnesi who
churned lu have actually *crn him raised in the air. Still the
ppituktff Omit t replying lu lliis criticism, showed that there was
yood confirmation in other clLrecuons. 1 Father Anthony Beatilta,
who gftv* evidence in 3 different place and on a different occasion,
tol l the whole story independently, having heard h several years
before from the s^tnc Signor Tobias a fellow-eonn trymiin and
friend of hii, lo whose character he paid a very high tribute- Hit
mpoit accurately iallied with da Ponte's- first-hand account
Moreover a number of witnesses deposed to the brilliant <itid
supernatural light which had mail) timrs been seen in radiate
from Father BemandiWs countenance while in prayer, though on
these occasions he had not Iwen raised from the ground,
f h n disappointing not io have access tq the processes of those
ascetics who like St John Joseph of the Gross, O.S.F., St. Gerard
MjjelLi C.SS.R,, St. Mai tin Forets O.R, or Blessed Dominic
of |r*u Mam, O.C.lX have 1|«n specially conspicuous for their
aerial raptures, One would like, for example, to tec the terms of
(lie depositions upon which rests ihc story of St. John Joseph *
experience in Naples Cathedral. A few years before his death
t 1 1?S+)t when the old man could only get about with die aid of a
slick, he ventured to mingle in the dense crowd which came there
to venerate the bhvud oF St. J-vnutirius. In reluming from thr dtar
rails his stick was. knridked out of hb liond t and without this hr way
helpless. Accordingly he lurried to hit dear San Genuaro and
begged him in come to lib aid. On this tie found liinuelf lifted
tip in the crowd and without tone lung die ground hr wax carried
right out of the dpqr of the cathedral. There he sat down on the
* ad Am raid'.-<nt* ti, pp- 6 sp j — 'j

LEVITATION

*tcp$, and when a. friend of his, the Duke of Lmriaun. asked htm
what was the matter, he replied merrily: J Ncsihirtg, only l have
lodt my steed ►” The Duke offered him bis carriage, hut the old
man answered, u No* no; it will corne, the stick will come.”
Pushing his way into the building the Duke soon after perceived
that there was immense ewitement among the cmwd, who were
shouting, u Mmwh, mrawfo" and looking up he saw the Saint's
stick moving through the air a foot and a half above the heads of
tilt people. Then the suck flirted out -d the church and bumped
againtl iti owner, who clutched it and set uiS humc to rescue hirrmd f
frnm the over zculnut veneration of those who surrounded him.

One would be inclined tu dismi-w such 11 tale as pure fable from
beginning lu cud, if 1 it were not that thereseerm to he good evidence
that St. Jwhn Joseph was himself On very many occasions scen^
raised in the air, sometimes a few inches, sennr Limes Five or dx
feet, and once to the roof of the church, while in 17UU he took
part in a procession, making believe to walk, but ill litet, we are
figured, carried through the air in ccsuiy a distance of two miles,
hah a foul or more above the ground. 1

It would be impossible to call attention here to even a tithe of
the stories, rooTO of less similar in character* winch meet iu in our
hubiographic. l l ro tfds. Dominic of Jmi Mum, whose name was
mentioned above, in said to have been raised above the ground in
the prewaice of King Philip II of Spain and bin Queen, and m
that .itate of ccjiiuy to have complied with the mental commando
of Hh Majesty, to whom the Saint's superior temporarily com¬
mitted Ids own authority. On another occasion the same holy ,
Carmelite when riling in the air was caught hold n by a sceptical
witness who bellied these ecstasies ta lie a trick. The critic was
earned up along with the Saint, and becoming aft aid, loosed hi*
hold, so that he Ml to the ground and veu severely injured. 1
Kicked 1 ninmavi da G <ri. ClJi.F., falling hut* an * ■ when he
was giving Craoimmion in the church at Civttrll.i, rewe to the roof
so swiftly that the congTcmiton though! hr nm%\ Mve broken hi*
head igzdmt rise rafter, hm after a short in ten'a I lie tank gently
back to earth, holding the eiburium safely in one hand and a
particle between the thumb aiid rorefinget - 1 loo other. He also
on one occasion was rawed up horizontally from hi* bed into the
tHodalO dtfli’ Ammlfl, IW it S. Gimzlaitfl* vY.I l.r^t I.Ed iSSa,. pp.
ij F ^ mi Tup Mat will ion w** hrrrtitfjst oul lit, !rr the . .^viunm of the
["'■jiIliLu,:! of EUr Ca'Jisr. vdtc wuil liivr knbWtt a!J the eyidrricr.

r See Filippo 'hlia 5. TrinitA, Fita rt>U f. P. D&wwiz> n Gnu Mmix : Rome.
t&S®l r pp. v.

26 TILE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA Of MYTHCCtM

air during his last sickness. 1 In the case of Blessed John Mossias, a
Dominican lay-Brother, who used to pray in the church at night rapt
in ecstasy, a novice entering in the (lark was frightened to death
by coming into contact with the Brother’s legs and feet as he hung
suspended in the air.* But of similar incidents there is literally
no end. In the imperfect and limited inquiry which l have had
time to make, l liavc taken note of the names of something over
two hundred persons alleged to have been physically lifted from
the ground in ecstasy. In about one-third of these cases there
seems to me to lx? evidence which, if not conclusive, is to say the
least respectable. This, however, docs not at all mean that the
other two-thirds are to be rejected as mythical, but only that no
adequate testimony to the (act is at present within reach. Many
are medurval cases recorded by writers long posterior in date.
*rhey may have had good evidence Ixrfore them, or the)* may hase
repeated or invented a quite baseless story. Sl Dumtan may have
been, as his legend reports, lifted up, chair and all, as he was
delivering an address from his episcopal throne, but we cannot
ignore the fact that in the earliest of our biographies the incident
teems only to occur as an interpolation. On the other liand there
can l>e little doubt dial St. Richard or Chichester did actually
discover his friend St- Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury, raised
from the ground in ecstasy os he was proving in his chapel, while
the evidence for St. Catherine of Siena’s levitations seems quite
overwhelming. A large proportion of the reputed cases of aerial
rapture only occur as brief entries in the mcnologies of the religious
# Orders. Data are in most cases wanting which would enable us
to criticise or control the facts, but occasionally some scrap of
evidence comes to light which proves duit the claim thus made
fully deserves to Ik treated seriously. I may quote in illustration
the case of die great theologian Father Fronds Suarez, a man of
very holy life, but not of such saintliness as calls for recognition on
the altars of the Church. Widi regard to Father Stums a paper
still exists couched in die following terms:

I. Brodier Jerome da Silva, S.J., hereby certify that I have
written this document by order of my confessor, Fr. Anthony de
Morales, and that the same Father has commanded me to give It
to no one. nor to let it be read, but to keep it closed in an envelope

1 Luca di Roma. lit* dtl S <h Du Tamms* Ja Ccn , pp. 31, 173—6. Thu Life
it baaed upon the process of b e a t i fi ca t ion.

* Vita id R, CiMiamu Atauuu 'Remit, 1837), pp. 139.

LEVITATION 97

with an endorsement absolutely forbidding anyone to open it until
after the death of Fa titer Francis Suarez.

The writer then goes on to explain that he has adapted this
course because his confessor directed it, and because he himself,
being in feeble health, is not likely to live long. The document
gives an account of two occasions when the Brother found Father
Suarez in ecstasy. It will be sufficient to transcribe the second
incident.

Another day at the same hour—it was about two in the after¬
noon—Don Pedro dc Aragon (the Rector of llie University of
Salamanca) asked me to request Fr. Suarez to lie good enough to
go with him to the monastery’ of Santa Cruz. As the Father had
bidden me summon him whenever this gentleman called, I went *
up at once. Across the door of his room I found the stick which
the Father usually placed there when he did not wish to be inter¬
rupted. Owing, however, to the order ! had received 1 removed
the stick and entered. The outer room was in darkness. 1 I called
the Father but he made no answer. As the curtain which shut off
his working room was drawn, I saw through the space left between
the curtain and the jambs of the door a very great brightness. 1
pushed aside the curtain and entered the inner apartment. Then
I noticed that a blinding light was coming from the crucifix, so
intense that it was like the reflexion of the sun from glass windows,
and I felt that I could not have remained looking at it without
being completely dazzled. This light streamed from the crucifix
upon the face and breast of Father Suarez and in this brightness
I saw him in a kneeling position in Grom of the crucifix, his head
uncovered, his hands joined, and his body in the air lifted three
feet above the floor on a level with the table on which the crucifix
stood. On seeing this I withdrew, but before quitting the room
I stopped bewildered, and as it were beside myself, leaning against
the door-post for the space of three Credos. Then I went out, my
hair standing on end like the bristles on a brush, and I waited,
hardly knowing wliat 1 did, lieside the doorway of the outer room.
A good quarter of an hour later 1 heard a movement within, and
the Father, coming to take the slick away, saw ine standing tliere.

I then told him that the gentleman was waiting. He asked me
why I had uot let him know. 1 answered that 1 had come to the
inner room and called him but that he hod not replied. When

1 As we leant Grom the omitted portion of the document, the semwiarinns
wa* caused by the ihuttcn beiti* closed.

a 8 the physical phekomesa op mysticism

the Father heard that I had entered the inner room, he seized me
by the arm, made me come right inside again, and then, clasping
his hands and with his eyes full of tears, he implored me to say
nothing of what 1 had seen, at any rate as long as he lived. On
my part I asked permission to consult my coufcssor. To this he
readily consented, for ray confessor was also his. My confessor
advised me to write this account in the form above explained, and
1 have signed it with my name, because all that it contains is the
simple truth- And if it should please God that 1 die before Father
Francis Suarez, those who read this may believe it as if they had
seen everything with their owm eyes. Otherwise if our Lord should
will that Father Suarez die first, I shall be able to confirm the
whole on oath so far as may be necessary.— Jerome da Silva.

No one, I think, will be disposed to regard this piece of evidence
as contemptible, 1 but it b obviously a mere chance that any such
record has been preserved to us. Without it, it would have been
natural to assume that any talk of aerial transports in Suarez’s
case was just a pious fable unworthy of serious attention. As a
matter of fact, from the point of view of the student of psychic
phenomena, not a few of the most interesting cases of alleged
levitation ore to be found in the lives of mystics who have never
actually been beatified. 1 have no room to go into detail, but by
way of illustration I may draw attention to the curious experiences
of Maria Agreda and of Possitca Crogi. In the former case we
are told that the famous author of the A hstica C iudad dt Diox made
* such efforts to resist her ecstatic levitations that she vomited blood.
When she discovered that she had been made a show of by her
nuns when in the trance state, and that her veil had l>ccn removed
in order tliat curious strangers might lie able to see the expression
and radiance of her lace, the declared she would rather have sat
in the pillory. Bishop Samanicgo, who knew her Intimately, gives
the follow ing account of her ecstasies:

The raptures of the servant of God were of this nature. The
body was entirely bereft of the use of the senses, as if it were dead,
and it was without feeling if violence was done to it; it was raised
a little above the ground and as light as if it had no w’cight of iu
ow n, so much so that like a feather it could be moved by a puff of

‘The whole document, with further detail* irjranline Rrothcr da Silva and
Father de Morale*, will be (omul in R. de Scurraiilr, S.J.'» Ftaa^ou Sxjjtli < Tam,
igtl), II. pp t &—jen

LEVTTATION

breath even from a distance. 1 The face was more beautiful than
it normally appeared; a certain pallor replaced the naturally
swarthy hue. The whole attitude was so modest and so devout
that she seemed a Seraph in human form. She frequently re¬
mained in this state of ecstasy for two or even for three hours.*

Of Passitea Crogi, a Sienese Capuchin nun who died in 1615,
her biographer, a learned professor of Arabic, who manifests a
quite unusual sense of the value of evidence, writes at follows:

According to the violence of the ecstasy she was lifted more or
less from the ground. Sister Felice deposed that she had seen her
raised three braccia. Sister Maria Francesca more than four breccia
anti at the same time that she was completely surrounded with an
immense effulgence of light. This lasted for two or three Itoursf
On one occasion at Santa Fiora in the house of the Duchess Sforza,
when she was present with a crowd of other people, Passitea was
surprised by a rapture, under the influence of which she remained
raised from the ground at the height of a man. The Duchess, who
was a witness of the occurrence, caused an attestation of the fact
to be drawn up, which was signed by all present.

Wc are also told that she was often transported from place to
place without moving her feet and without touching the ground.
Thus in an expedition she undertook with Suor Diodata on a
mmldy day, when the latter was covered with mire Passitea reached
her journey's end without a speck.*

Lastly I may note in concluding that these alleged levitations*
are not merely experiences of past and remote ages. They may be
somewhat lex* frequent among the mystics of modern times but
they still go on. The Carmelite nun of Pau, a Syrian by birth,
Sister Mary of Jesus Crucified, who died in 1878, is stated by her
biographer to have soared up in the air to the top of a lime tree,
and when she was bidden by her Superior to come down she left
in her hasty descent one of her sandals in its topmost bough, where
on search being made it was espied the next day.* Gemma

»A similar lightness. as of a featheT floating In air. » recorded of Bd. Maria
Anna <li Gesu. See her Ilia by I’letn* itelln S Spiiitn, pp mi —a. Aho in the case
of the Arcxzo t****^*^ , IXitnenica Borba^Ii: see the Ltlltr ol the Earl of Shrewsbury,
pp. 67. teq.

• Bishop Xrmenn Samarurgo, I 'ids it Is 1 /*• Madrt Maria it Jtmt, Chap. 9 *

• K.fu JiOa K A/ PauiUa Cngi Stnttr, scritta da L. Marracci (Venice, 168a),
p. 148.

• titrate, Yit it Mont it Jisru Cnafii (191 j), PP- *59 —•

30 Tltt physical piiznguema op mysticism

Galgani, who being bom in 1878 died in the odour of sanctity in
1903, was also lifted above the ground in ecstasy, so at least her
confessor, who was also her biographer, declares. 1 Finally I may
note the curious experience of a still more recent ecstatic who died
in 1912. One of her fellow-religious, Suor Maria Prasscdc, dclle
Crocifusc Adoratrici, in a letter of June 3, 1913, writes:

I was still a novice and on tliose last occasions when Suor Maria
della Pasdone was able to come down to the choir to receive Holy
Communion, the Rev. Mother Superior bade me take her back to
her cell, because, as she was so 111, the had to return to bed almost
immediately after Communion was given her. Well, no sooner
had wc left the choir together than I noticed that the servant of
t God, though she was in a most suffering state, mounted the stairs
in an instant, os if she flew on wings, while I, though I was in
perfect health, could not keep pace with her; so much so that it
seemed to me that she never touched the ground but that she really
flew up the flight of stair* which led to her cell.*

Assuming, then, that we have reasonable ground for crediting
the fact of levitation, there remains the question of its possible
explanation. Theologians for the most part offer the rough and
ready solution dial in the case of holy people it is a manifestation
of divine power, effected perhaps through the ministry of angels;
but that in such cases os those of Simon Magus, sorcerers, and
spiritualistic mediums, it is the work of the devil. Without ven-
f turing to reject this explanation outright, I find certain difficulties,
too complex to summarize here, which suggest that it would be
wise to impend our judgment. I may confess that as regards the
levitation of material objects (t.g., heavy dining-room tables)
without contact, the spiritualistic evidence seems to me quite con¬
vincing, and if a table can be suspended in the air, it is hard to
see why a man cannot.* Sir Oliver Lodge adumbrated a spiritistic
theory to explain these phenomena. Professor Charles Riclirt a
materialistic one. They attribute strange activities to the ether,
to teleplasm, to crvptx9thesia, etc.; but it seems to me that in the
present state of our knowledge w*e cannot even decide whether the

• Gerreano, Lift tf Crmtu Gtdfcxti, Eng- Tram., (1914), pp. 1170—1.

• Thu has tame interest in it* relation tn the M »ti*hu *' of other cntattci »ur.h

as i^amtea Qrogi or St. Mary Magdalen de'Pani. L- M. I’ontana, Pita At U Strut
Ji Dio, Suef dtllt Pumtm, Second EJn., p 394 (Seomaro, 1917).

• I Law quoted wmt of ihc evidence which has most imprewed me in an
article 00 T\t Rtoiiiy */Pytka-ptynal Pkaumam, in the Dmbitx Ktuxt for July, 19-10.

LEVITATION 31

effec t* observed do or do not transcend the possible range of what
may be called the psycho-phyTical forces of nature. 1

Perhaps it would be well to explain that levitation cannot be put
forward as one of the miracles required either for beatification or
canonization. That » to say, such a phenomenon, if well attested,
would be accepted as corroborative evidence for the existence of an
heroic degree of virtue in the subject, but the decree declaring that
the Servant of God practised virtue in an heroic degree is not sufficient
for beatification. It is necessary that, in addition, miracles worked
after death should be satisfactorily proved in attestation of his sanctity.

Further, although it is commonly held that the Bull of Canoniza¬
tion imposes upon the faithful the duty of believing that the Servant
of God so honoured is in the enjoyment of eternal bliss, no im¬
munity from error attaclies to die historical statements occurring}
In the Bull regarding the facts of Isis life or his alleged miracles.

In the Qyaritriy Javmai of Scum* for Jan. 1875. aiui in Iml>rrt~G<m/beyn:
La Stigmthatim (1U94) Hn P- * 39. * hu t» given of levitated Saint*, trui in
neither ca»r n any attempt made to distinguish between well-attested and
unsatisfactory examples. 1 art down hr*c thr name* of twenty such ecstatic*
not mentioned in the text, choosing by preference those that art less widely
known. It would be ea*y to make a lilt of treble the length. The date added
to cadi is the year of death I hare aUn given a reference in each case to
tuuren wherr further particular* may be found. " stand* lor the

Dolhutdm collection of the AcU .Imeionm; Process, iuwiwrte ” foe the
summary uf evidence found In the official PatUlt iu prt I7rixii'ixi submitted to
tile Corupegatirm of .Sacred Rita Mnlirval examples, and s.urh famous
modem Saiittt as St. Alphoruus liguori, etc., have beat passed over.

Iki. Nicholas Fartor, IJB3 {Moreno, I'uU, pp. 128-9).

Bd. Andrew Ihrroan, 160a 'Process. .Vwimari*, pp. 319, 3*4-3, 331).

ild. Gupat de Bono, 1604 (P. A- Miltmi. I'ia, pp. 76-7*-

Bd- Juan di Rifxrj, tfita (V. Caitnlk>, l Vi*, p. grs ;.

St. Alphonnn Rodrigue*. 1617 Oct. vol, xiii, p. 622 f.

Bd. lawroto da llrindni. 1619 t il. da O c r ag t ia. ftittrtito, pp. «3<>, 196).

Veronica Usparrlli, 1620 (Process, S Wnam, pp 138, 141).

St Mtrhari de Sarnia, tfos IN. della Vetginr, tits, pp. 43-9. 56V.

St. Peter CUver, 1654 (J- Soli, Vida, pp. 3*3. 389, 390).

Bd- Bernard da Gorleooe. 1G67 (B. Sanbenedrm. 1 tin, pp. 63, 7*).

Morin Minima Stm**!, 167a (Pita, p. 19).

Juana dr la Encamacion. 1705 {L.J Zrvallos, Paine* it CMruto, pp. 23*4).

Bd Bunavrntuns Poteotini, *711 (AA^SS. Oct. VoL xii, p. 134).

Bd. Francisco dc Poaadas. 1713 [V. Sopena, Fit*, pp 43*4).

An^tolo Paoli. 1720 (T. Caedari. Ilia. p. 147).

St. Pacificus di San Serrrino, 1721 (Mekhiorri, He*, p. 73).

Bd Angelo dl Acri, 1739 (A*tSS. Oct. Vol xiii. ftp. 661, 6731,

CUra Isabella de Furnarii*, 1744 (Pieces*. Summon*, p. 103).

Gertrude Salandri, 1748 (Pitt, an anonymous but admirable biography,
pp. 220-4).

St. Maria Francesca dellr Cmqur Piaghe. 1701 (B. Lavkna. IVtt.p. 52),

An did Hubert Fouraet. t8at (Proem, Summaiio, pp. 376, 395, 39b, etc.).

J H. Cotbdengo, 1^42 (Process, Summon*, pp. 411, 41a. 41b).

1 Sec eg,, Preceding 1 1/ iSt Society far Prgcftkai Aitnerl, part 90, May, 19*4-

CHAPTER II

STIGMATA

Stigmata before St* Francis

I N turning its the most familiar and most widely debated of the
physieoq«ychfc mam f« radons here under discussion, nc are
met at the threshold of our inquiry 1 by u question of flier to
which it seems desirable to devote the whole of tin. present chapter.
Waa St* French of Assijq the first ascetic who bore impressed upon
his body the wound marks of our Lord's sacred passion J Until
within recent years the answer returned by writers of all school*
would have been unhesitatingly in the .dhrmativc, but lately a
dilfkulty baa hern raised on this point, and it Teems to me that the
doubt deserves a somewhat more pitiiciit and sympathetic; trrat-
meru than has l>teii accorded to it by such writers a* Father Michael
QilU 1 qr A* M. K; niger.

Tiir occasion for these later developments in the dUciisaiwi was
furnished by the publication tit ipio of a monograph by Dr. J.
«Mcrlrt of Tubingen University 1 which may still be regarded as the
mu:-L serious attempt to explain from a rationalist standpoint the
problem of tiL Franda 1 stigmata. That such marks were borne by
the Saint in the last days uf his life rmd were observed in his dead
body our critic does not dispute. He affirms, Imwcver* that tiLc
wounds did not date back, as llie biographers of Francis commonly
allege, to the vision of the Seraph in September 1224, but appeared
only a few weeks, before fill (kadi (October 3, triad); J aUo that
they were little mure than discolorations or abrasions of the ikin r
not fissures penetrating the flab of the hands or feet; and further

l S« Rlhl i« A* Vrsifli PVirvum-ivtA Nuiati July, tgtu, Koulcrr In the
fAritim-to JdlrfitcA, iQfc, pp. 7U7 «cq

‘ />rf Aft A■teMsr lirlVt t^ifULg, til If.,

* Thh view his heeis pm Gsrwaol by JU Himw ID WWID SrttdcL, in
the Hiifvruihr Edhlikrrfl, I gob, fip 385—mn igfliii hi the .trd.il/ AVte*
rtuhtchu, viii. [laxo'i, TO. 2^?—#). Bat S^sirut 1M1 tru K_ Wen^fe, in the Ztit*
Kteifif. JtrcAnypMfAHW, uxit. (igi'h V- QA

mskiAt^

ihsl sears or ccchymoUc spot* of ihii nature might cm .ily be pro-
duced, and probably were, in fact, produced* by purely pathological
conditions, given a subject whose thoughts were almost uninter¬
ruptedly concentrated upon the marks of >jur Saviour's passion.
All this, however, had equivalently been said by earlier writers like
Karl Ham pc, Georges Dumas, Paul Sabatier* and others- That
which specially distinguished Dr. Merkds treatment of the problem
waa die stress kiid by him upon the fact that already before rhr date
of the vision of lire Seraph certain Christian mystics iq the wot
were familiar with thr idea of a physical rrpradurlion of the
wounds ol Christ in their own flesh, St- Paul, of d wt«, had
written of himself (Gthk vh 17} “l hear dir marks {rtivmuta) of
the l>crd Joai in my twaly, 1 * and there u vorae evidence that a
rather literal interpretation of lire words had begun to prevail,
among comments tors hi die twelfth century. 1 But Ire this os it
imv r we cannot ignore the fuel llmt two and a half yean before the
earlirM; date assigned for St. FranciY stigmatization, attention was
drawn to die ease of a religious eruliusiasi who showed the marks
of Christ** wounds in haiid?, feet and side. Whether lift w.ls a
fanatic, or even an impostor, doo not greatly matter tn oir parent
inquiry* The noteworthy point is that the firr-t notion of a “ mg-
made " (i 4^ a person marked witli tire stigmata} 1 was not derived
from what is recorded of St* Francis himself. Moreover, da te lire
two other slightly different but more or less contemporary cases,
which cannot be to accurately tfatcrh It is, to say the least, highly
probable that ihese also origins led independently of die Fi amn i scwtl
tradition. However we look at ii t there art facts, or at any rale ■
allegation*, which cannot be ignored hi any discussion of the
pheninmermn of stigmatizmion, and it istuiiom that on lioth side
to little attempt has hitherto been made to investigate the historical
evidence involved*

The first and best authenticated example of a pre-Franciscan
sligmauc is cited by Dr. Meiktfrom the Cfnvnhi Mejarufii Matthew
Paris, who, under the year 1222, make* an entry in tire following
terms:

In this same year, :i few dap before the Council htld at Cnliter-
bury [diia is apparently .1 slip of the peu lor Oxford! hy Stephen
(Lruigton), Archbishop of Canterbury, a nun was liken up who

1 See, hfjvrrvrr., llthh Atrtevm Ffa*riKHMSi* 111. SOT

■'ll Li rinvcnint iri baw *n Eogliih cqjiuv*lcat Ui- i-'raad, <>' r n.-. r . ( Hk
Oxford Eng it/A Dktiuurt rreo^aUc-i ihc ure of dr word " uigmalic iti tiaJi iranc
wA quolta an example from Thr fvfcci ^ c*rly as iJJfljj,

34 * 11 * rHYttQAL FHOOHENA OF MVITTCEM

had in hla body and in hi 1 ! limbi, that is to %&y in hia side, his hand*
and lib feet, tlie five wounds tsf the Crucifixion. Together with
him in die same Council there was presented a person of double
sex, viz.. an Hermaphrodite, who was wider the same delusion as
the first (nasdttn nrrons ytw prior fail jbcoetAttv) along with an accom¬
plice of Ilia own. Being convicted of thii error and confessing their
guilt they were punished according to the sentence uf tlic Church.
Similarly. also, a certain apostate, a deacon, who from a Christian
hud become a Jew, was likewise penanted in due legal form.
Whereupon Fuko Fawkes dc Breamf ) at once had him arrested
attd hanged 1

Although this account Isc nut very clear, there can be no doubt
that it b fairly correct in the mam, and the dace in particular is
beyond dispute. The strange thing is that neither Dr, Merkt nor
hh numerous critics have appareaily thought of -coking further
information regarding this interesting case from die pages of the
other Engl bit chroniclers. Several of these mention the incident,
and there are good reason? for believing, as we shall iec> that they
are likely to be more trustworthy than the lively but by no meant
too accurate historian or St. Alban*.

Let us begin with the Dumlablt Annals* the eompDei of which,
Prior Richard de Modus, seems to have written up his narrative
year by year Irani mo to 1241 k He had assisted at the Coujiril
o! the Lnteran in 1214, and it teems highly probable that m some
capacity he would have been present at the Provincial Council of
^ Oxford. He doe* not tell us much of the stigmata? who wra sen*
toed, but what he says h to the point. 3 After speaking of |he
apostate dear on, who. it appears, w At burnt to death, not hanged,
the Dim*table Annals Continue:

Annthcr deacon, «n account of ibdl, underwent degradation.
Furthermore, a cerium women who made herself out to be the
Blessed Virgin, and a certain young man who made himself out

10 be Chrif t , and lead perforated hit hands and lidc and feel, were
immured at Banbury {utimurali sunt apud B&nmbirtt'p

Tills record, entered upon the page in which we now read it in

1 M-iUhrw f’ifjt. Ckrsmka Majors ftulli Sctir% fid- [.iiti t. i:, HI r p. nj r

1 r?^ .hn,y f ; i/ DunvetiU (ftolfi Jwrirt* Ed- hunrd). p. 76 . Q« the ttccuncv
oT tin- ehtwiLctc *« th t Edjiut’j ;jidjce. p r xl MUl p. xxxiL **Ai to thr bhrcmul
vihir Of I hr d-tiWi D&utinMi J hardly Ibiufc wr can r^tim-W il Iik» hutJv-"

11 u to hr newcel *]*< that ihc Oxford Council ml in Osncy momut-iy,
that Oanry jid 4 DtUUtallir were \toth hmrra of Augurthudn Cowm.

rrUiicATA

the same year in which the incident happened, must he regarded,
a* evidence of a very high order. With this also agrees the brief
note in the H'nnt.jlr? Annul. i„ also A con tempo raneou* entry,, to the
cElect that " a certain rustic who used to crucify himself {qui Jr
(tv£ij}geb<ts'\ wa.i imprisoned for Eife/’ 1 More detail is vnuchsafbd
us by Thomas Wykes, who., though noi exactly a contemporary,
wrote in that very monastery of Dancy in which the Oxford Council
held its sittings. Moreover, Thomas Wykex, as his editor telk us,

“ must always be bolted on as one of die most interesting and most
trustworthy iiHturitins of hit time." Hit account of the apostate
deacon who w at burnt is more detailed titan that of any other
chronicler, after which he gow on:

There was presented in the same Council a certain countryman
a layman, whose madness was such that he caused himself to be
crucified, to the dishonour of Lhe Crucified One, declaring that he
was the Son of Cod and t he red temer of the world. By the enttn c e
of the Council he was incarcerated, and being shut up for the text
of his life and fed only on hard bread and water, he ended hi*
days In umfinrnienl, 1

The fullest account of our supposed itigninlic b, however, that
supplied by Ralph, Abb ji of Coggeshall m f.vsejt, who was ;ui
undoubted ron temporary and whose authority as a chronicler
stands high. As his narrative breaks ojf abruptly in 1224, and ns
he a believed to have reigned his office as Abbot in isuB through
ml urn health, there is evciy reason to suppose bi;i( his account of*
the year was committed to writing shortly after the events
described. In accord with the other more reli a ble annalists be
(ells us that the apostate deacon was burnt, and then he continues r

There was also a misbelieving young man brought up before lhe
Council, together with two women, who were all charged by the
archdeacon of that district with the grievous crime of infidelity.
The young man win. arraigned because he refused to enter a church
01 to be a participator in the sacred rites (esc divims \nuirsm lacra-
*/vnth) i or 10 pay heed to thr admonitions of his Catholic father,
and because he showed himsdf to be crucified, bearing five wound*
on bis body which still could hr plainly irrn, and also because he
encouraged these women to call him Jesus,. One of the women,

1 df tS asetln ' Itnlti £tenin, Luwd), p a^6

1 jfnrn.jtri tic 0,'nn.i (Rhlli Serin, ) h p S 3 .

36 THE E'lfYllCAL fKKKOUIKA or UYTTCfUM

who was r 1 ' FttIv. vm mcM of having for a tong time been given
up 10 ^,t luamuikmji and of having by her un^ie aru biuu^ht
the young man aforesaid 10 ihk airocioiii pitch oi madness. These
frvo, in consequence, being found guilty of this grave ofFen.ee, were
ordered to tse en tifin ed wi ihin two waUi until they died. But the
olbt? woman, who was the young man 1 3 sister* was iet at Liberty
because she made known their impious procedure , 1

The biter hislnriam arid little except obvious errors—I may
menlimi in. tlLurtrarictn the; statement in Ralph Higdcn that the
young tnau after lenience of death paced by Holy Church was
nailed to a l:o« at Abirhury —3 nit one other contemporary
dim nick, that of Barnwell near Cambridge, supplies a few more
tJchdh which arc not without interest. After seating that the young
man's hands, feet and ride were perforated, the writer adds that
there woe wounds also ** upon die head/* corresponding no doubt
to the punctures of out Saviour's crown Lit thorns . 2 Then he goes
on;

There was also taken up with him a woman wlio induced people
la rail htr Mary, mother of Christ, changing her own proper name.
Thiv person gave nut that site was able to celebrate Mass, and
the fact was confirmed by certain evidence they discovered in tbe
shape of a dmlice and pattest of wax, which she fabricated for
aurli a purpose. On these two offenders the Council inflicted
punishment according u* their desert.*, ordering that they should
* be immured within stone walls until death released therm

In the light cf the details thup collected from various sources, all
of them seemingly independent, we are forced to conclude that the
you ill WTO dthcr a Lunatic or a n tuning rogue, but most probably
a mixture of the two. 'Hie refusal In have anything to do with
Church or increments proves him to have bem itmdammtally in
conflict will 1 the whole religions system or the age iu which be

1 R^Lthshi 1 tr* C^-ihall, f-ii-wr-an lir^iLLmm RAli Said* Eel, StcvEmoa),
'1' ibii q cecum u wiiiira in iJvc kiiUvie'i MS, Over an aware, it u
□aiut-U uj infer (Jut ihk m tbe u»t be fetlly a cce pt ed « atuhmEic iftcr
cucf-in! tfiqtllry,

* Jl- i ul lil- ^iviaifr ii, ffr*£Tjti*r *nd liy hr, piratti ffre fmin MlcuItt:
,L DVj 'OH m I hi m o&rai H i-) L,. ■ 1 tji ti ic rruritigi t^nuiiil, in quo omla.ii

dtalticLLtn imlnera. WSftfjMi it- m*mlnu rl pcdiblit rl la Eire per for At::.

, apparaaum." Tdii It the reading and punttution Qf&tubh, who bkd
crJliM thr M-S. Aruwtri IO of the Caltnc of Arno, Tbe 1st it innjrcomini

io Wriisr tif Coventry, It, ji.

STIGMATA

lived, We bear nothing from contemporari-t- of hti setting up as
a moral reformer^, but the wish to have veneration punl him as
J«w» 1 while his elderly companion figured ns \tary, his m- -thcr.
could never be regarded as otherwise than blasphemous by sn
educated Christian of the Middle Ages. Without some strain of
madness, no one, least of all an illiterate rustic* could have per¬
suaded himself iu good faith that he was giving honour tn tWI by
persisting in such a ftik. Dr* Mcrki's nip position, of an intsiiviy
devout mystic hnimdetl in death by a tribunal of worldly Cedes) as-
tics. whose vice* he rebuked is thus effectually excluded. On the
other hand there iian apparently be no doubt as to the rain nice
of the wuuticb, or scars, in hands, fret and side, The curious phiasr,
used mine ihim once, that " he permuted himself to be crucified,"
seems rather' to suggest ilraL he had by sonic expedient made pev
foretiom in his feet and bands, that he kept these open, and that
on occasion hfc allowed nails to he passed through them and driven
into the wood of a rough-hewn cross. * We are not told whether
there was any foot-rest to die cros* he used, but if there were, and
he simply stood upright upon his pierced feet, ihere seems no
physical impossibility that such a position, even with outstretched
or upraised arms, should tie maintained fur some hours. On the
whole* then* die evidence iri this Hughs! i case points to virnr i crrt
of ccmtortkmht's nr mountebank** trick which took a religious
colour els idly hr cauie the ideas and intercsti of that age centred
round religious themes. On this supposition we tanituT greatly
blame Stephen Lungton and hia fellow bishops if ihcv rtganfcd die
whole performance as an irreverent, not to say blasplicmoUj*
mockery of all that Christians deemed most sacred.

If this explanation of the Oxford incident be accepted as probable,

1 Thr ir»mbb.TiCC between ihi* r:ur aw! ibi t«F Juhft llitdD, th- nlnflmlth'
Century [urwii>-Mr»iiili aiisi ttispunlic. « FCTOlrtaiJc- Ttiom, according to the
--tnnW A’f^uir fiif tr U.ispln ^muily uyle4 hUiu^if iii-r Saviour uf the -.orJa,
■ad in convince Jti» fnliniwi linn be wu vs, pointed » certain puzictures in lain
huml* throe inltlrt wi by the tLdili of the crjm. ni:.i to a cicatrice in ini aide ui
itw wound out [if which issued bloTcl anti Uniter ” !y-- tbr .utkic mi M J hem

by Ft, rtiurxum iti the Tubh't for tfutft Asjymi , 193Q. JJI.G

* Cr[<MVf, a late writer, but one who olii’Ji drmv J.i inform, j tic: h rn-.ni trui-
Worthy loanee*, givn fhr frktFowini; n.'cxiunl nf die (nciilml in. till Cbtowti ttf
RitfanJ, " There vmj arciriini etc a carl dlAt procured men to fioyk Inn on a
erroic; fur iti handre and fert wre v:vn lbs wauinta of tl*e nuta *&4 in hii
liijc II WOiinif eke: tied in hi* foodnesie muiinrja hr wold J3V tkar he wm K>
■rayed fro die ta,varicm of tbe world. Jrlr uni put iti rei>in l.ir cm r. awl oevyr
to hav- tuber repast bui tomd ami vrnlrr" jRnl! hr rk* t.d-. p. ij-.i Tim
irrn.j tirarly in in3f»I> dial iLe aiYmfd fcul made 4 practice u£ Itavinjj hroucir

riitlnJ to a OOh *1 tnlTvali.

38 THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OP MYmCIXM

we have clearly to do with uornetlung very different from the stig¬
mata of St. Francis of Assisi. None the less the case does prove
that men’s thoughts were at this period much occupied with the
wounds of our Saviour and with the possibility of a literal imitation
in a living body of litis aspect of His Passion. The two other cases
of apparent stigmatization to which Dr. Mcrkt directs attention
are vaguer and notably less well attested than that just died. The
first is known to us only through a passage in Stephen de Bourbon’s
Traetalus, a collection of edifying stories for preachers. Stephen,
an eminent Dotninican, who wrote about 1346, tells us of a certain
Robert, Dauphin of Auvergne, whom he calls Marquis dc Mont-
fcrrand. After explaining that Robert had been unjustly suspected
of heretical leanings on account of his collection of Aibigensian
tyx>ks. he adds:

This man many years before his death had borne upon his body
the marks (stigmata) of the Lord Jesus as a reminder of His Passion
and of the fidelity due to Him. Along with other penances which
he performed in memory' of our Lord’s Passion he pierced his flesh
every Friday with certain nails so far even as to draw blood (atm
quibusdam (lent eatnem tuavx singulis icxlii frriis usi/tu ad sanguinis
fjfusionrm :onfigebat)

As Robert died in 1334, Dr. Mcrkt seems justified in his con¬
tention that the phrase " many years before his death ” would
naturally take us back to a period earlier than the stigmata of St.
^Francis- And this b tl»c more likely because Robert is represented
as being phenomenally old (ant iquis sinus trtatis). No man, however
holy, is likely to take up such a practice of mortification as a
septuagenarian or octogenarian, and Robert’s virtue, at any rate
in h» early life, was not without its flaws. His collection of books
seems to have been largely acquired by pillaging the neighbouring
religious houses, so much so that Pope Celestine III. in 1193 wrote
to the Archhbhop of Bourges directing him to excommunicate
Robert if he did not mend hb ways.* On the other hand it b not
quite clear that the word stigmata means anything more than the
scars of Ixxiily penances in general, e.g., disciplines, spiked girdles
and such like, but certainly the use of nails b suggestive. If the

1 Stephanos <ie Bourbon. Tratntut St Suttrit matniit P'tfitabiUbtti (Ed. lecoy
dr U March* 1, p. 1177. The whole story t* ako printed in Qu^tif arul Echaid,
Scnpuwtr, O.P., I, p. 191.

1 See Devk and Vaiuete, Hitt. **». St Lm&tiAc r. VoL X. (ift&fih |». 364 n„ and
the SUmoint of the Aeadfirrir of Qermoot-Frrrmnfl, Vol, XXIV (l88a), p. 335.

mCTMATA 34

scare, however* were stigmata in the modem sense, they must in
Robert's case beyond doubt have been jelf-inHie ted.

The third example appealed lo by Dr- Mcrki Is Lhat of Blessed
Dodo, a Pmuiuan?cratensiait monk, of lliidiit in !■ risia. I he
account is lo be found in the short Latin biography We possess of
Mm, but Lhe author of tins is unknown, neither is there any quite
satisfactory evidence that he wn a contemporary. The passage
with which vre are concerned runs as follow! :

In the year s 331 T on (lie Sunday after oar Lady's Annunciation,
Brother Dodo, a man of blameless life and conduct, was killed
under the wad of an old ruin which fell upon him. For five years
previously he lad led a mon&tic and solitary 4 life ui this spot
serving God and our Lady by day and night amid grievous txxliiy
muccflttiom T and so he ended eils life ^ a iori. of martyr by Cod’s
act and in union with God, N'uw when lie had been crushed to
death under the stones of this old sanctuary, they discovered that
there were open wounds in his hands and in his feet and in his
right side oiler the fashion of the five wounds of our Saviour.
These, perchance out of sympathy with his crucified Lord* he
carried Ibr many years so lhat be could truly Jay with Paid, " 1
bear the marks of the Lord Jesus in my body." But down to the
day of his death this was hidden from everyone, save from God
alone* who kndweth all things. 1

Here again we have no certainty about die date, hut 3 must
own that if we accept ihe statements of our only authorities as
reliable, Dr, Meritt seems justified in regarding thin case of stigma- *
tization as earlier than that of St. Francis, Thomas of Camtimpr^
descrdns the hermit Dodo av a very old man mtUt fanga mi jhiU
torgcecias). Now if he merited this description when hr died in
1231* he must already have been * del in 1134, <md die experience
of later c^rtiurirs shows that in nearly all the recorded cases the
stigmai a have manifested dirmwlvr* for the first time either in
youth nr in middle life , 3 Su Francis himself was not quite forty*
two at the time of the apparition of the Seraph, With regard to
the nature of die phenomenon jn Dodo's case wr have* of course,
nothing to guide u§, and consequently the question whether the

> AA>$S. t March, V«L lit. p 75* •

■ AH iwletnmti of fret mode by Dr. Irnbcre-Gfliirbeyre require ta be arrfullv
comrellcd* arid 1 venture to *o.y thjtt hit table of f£t II, p. 3lj

ciiuuit be irurt^l ; hut even the figures given by him would justify wh»4 a wid
above-

40 T1IE PHYSICAL FHJPfOMKA op tfYTncnMl

wounds were self-ini lie ted* or due to pathological causer, or were
miraculous in origin,, must l>e left unanswered* 1

As we arc ant here concerned to defend any thesis, but simply to
sift she evident*, we mint recognize candidly thr possibility that
in l \ good many instances the wounds were consciously or tP)»
consciously produced Uy ibr subject lunuelf. However little we
may be disposed tn admit that the physical phenomena of mysticism
can be reduced to hysteria, still It cannot be disputed dial the ec¬
stasy of the mystic and die trance of die hysterical patient are very
closely allied and cannot always be readily distinguished* Tin*
mimetic tcndciiciei of the byiicricn] diathesis are the commonplace
of all writers on the subject* On the other hand theft is nothing
more extraordinary in the accounts which have been preserved to
^us ;u :il! periods of the contemplative* who in a state of rapture
Tallow thfc successive stasis of our fjord 1 * sacred Passion, than die
dramatic instinct with which each scene is portrayed in their own
peewm. And in many coses it Is not merely the part of our
suffering Redeemer which is enacted, but, iu some sense simul¬
taneously, the cruelly and violence of thc*e who tormented Him
as well as the hnrrtrr and the compassion of HU friend*. Let me
iUmtrale the point tram the account preserved to its of two ccatatks
who lived in die Utter half of Si. Francis' own century,

About the year 1275 Philip, Abbot of ClairvauK, wrote a dea-
cripiiijQ iff the marvellous diincs observed in the ecstasies of
Elizabeth, ;i Cistercian nun of Jrlerkcnrodc nen.r liege, She was
marked with the stigma tn, lived, it seems, in an a bn oat continual
, state of trance, but* whnt was most remarkable of all, she used to
emu in the course of iracli twenty Tour horns ihe whole history of
Chriut's Passion, beginning at Matins in llir middlr of the night
with thr amst of ruir lord, and ending at Compline wid» Hi*
deposition in the tnmb. Abbot Philip, who was sceptical about
these occurrences until he came and saw for himself, lays strew
upon thr fat 1 dial the nun ** at one and the tame time represented
thr p-~vm of oyr Lord who was ntlfeing and of the persecutor or
erecttdmiei who wo* tormenting, the person of our Lord while He
submits EJjtu&df, and of the perseemor while be pushes, drugs,
smites or threatens. 1 * 5 Thus he tells us how, when Elizabeth was

1 OF tbr jiutdUlity df wlf-tnilltafed vre seem to hw pi^f in <he ca*cof

B< Chirii sua tfSpolcw (.t 14^,111 Au^miihum nun, who pntmi^oocWwilhi
Sail, iti imitnljtiixifQur Saidul'i tuHetiliO! if AA. $$. Feb,, VoL J I, pp. j<jyE» So 1 01

1 Tbe ton (d the whale account ii primed by the Bollandinx in thrir
nr Ute Hagi»ffrifilik*L MSS* of Bnusek, VdJ* I. pp, 36S--78, The abqve wordi
occur iq £ 4- p. 3(15.

STIGMATA

4 I

contemplating some stage of our Lottfs ignominious progress from
am tribunal to another* catching hold of tile Inborn of her own
dreu with her right hand she Would pull hwself 10 the right and
thru With the left hand she would drag herself in the opposite
di rectum. At another tune, stretching out Iter arm and raising
her fist thiratfjiimgly, die would strike herself a violent Mow on the
jaw so. that her whole body seemed to red anti totter under liie
impact; ot again, while her feet remained planted and motionless,
she would pull bertelf fiercely by the hair until her head struck the
ground. Similarly bending back all her fingers except an out¬
stretched! forefinger she would aim it at her eyes .as if *lie meant
to gouge Them out, while ai other stages writhing, at it Teemed, in
agony upon the Hoot, she beat her head against the ground over
and over again. But the most fr eq ue ntly recurring feature in ihb #
illonage of lirnejf was the shower of blows which, when lying on
her I jack in the tram e state, the rained upon her breast with
extraordinary force and violence. 1 The spectacle greatly im¬
pressed the onlookers, but it is not easy to explain or to fit in with
the rest of the icprcsaiturion of the Passion. Abbot Philip was
able, it Tcetij?, to make a close examination of the stigmata in
Elkubcthbi hands, feet and side. He, with other abbot) and
monks who were in his company, s*W the blood several times
spurting from these open wounds, and also from tier eyes anti from
beneath her nails, which last manifestation he explains by supposing
that our Saviour's wiistft may have been so tightly bound as to
cmuc a *hm!ar haemorrhage. 3

But now let us mm to the even more curious case of the nun. •
Luknrdis of Oberwcimur, who was apparenity born about ia"6
and who died in 1309* An unusually full account of her mystical
expci irnrx% b preserved to us in a Life compered by zonin' anony¬
mous religioiu who knew her well and who apparently wrote
shortly after her ilea ill, Like Elizabeth of Hcrkcarode, Lukardi*
v.-v subject to constant ecstasies and received the stigmata at an
cjuly age. But long before hie stigmata manifested themselves she
bad adopted certain practices which must inevitably have helped,
one may think, £0 facilitate their development. ’lints her bi¬
ographer tills us:

Alio with regard to the hammering in of the nails of ClirLiib

l Ihid, p, 37®, J 10.

T l|rti. [wn m.-mutira cl pedum mlncra sanguis, aabii viidsi&hwL, pturio
r-buHivic ■ I K-TTI ftlifjllfdkn* pe* m;cruEig\i-*-$ Tl cxrnein nobii I nmrftlih ta fluium
fcin^uiius cvanul crfrcmUif djgj torute ■ p. 3 ?l t V U-

42 THR PHYSICAL PlfEHOHEN A OF MYTTICttM

Croesi, as she carried the memory of it inwardly in her heart so she
represented it outwardly in action. For again and again with her
middle finger she would strike violently the place of the wounds
in each palm; and then at once drawing hark her hand a couple
of feet (ad diittmliam unius eubiti ) she delivered another fierce blow
in the same spot, the tip of her finger seeming somehow to be
pointed like a nail. Indeed, though it appeared a finger to sight
and touch, neither flesh nor bone could be felt in it and those who
had handled it declared that it had the hardness of a piece of metal.
When she struck herself in tliat way there was a sound ( tirmubal)
like die ring of a hammer falling on the head of a nail or on on
anvil. On one occasion a person in authority thinking this kind
of blow* was a sham or a mere trick, in order to find out the truth
put his hand in the way. Hut when she had struck but once he
hastily drew back his hand, declaring that if he had waited for a
second blow he would have lost the use of it for ever. With the
same finger, at the hour of seat and again at nonr, the servant < 4 *
God used to strike herself violently on the breast where the wound
came. The noise that site made was so great that it echoed through
the whole convent, and so exactly did she keep to the hour of sext
and none In this practice that the nuns (bund the sound mure
trustworthy than the dock. . . . Furthermore, it should he noted
that the Servant of God, before the stigmata appeared, endeavoured,
out of her great longing, to open the places of the wounds in her
feet by boring them, as it were, with her big toe (sua majori ptdua
quasi fodundt)).*

So doubt all this sounds very extravagant, and we may suspect
the writer of a good deal of exaggeration, but the account abounds
with psychological touches which are borne out by what wr know
of other similar ecstatic*. Moreover, it is plain that the last thing
tile biographer dreamed of was to cast any doubt upon the super¬
natural character of her mystical experiences. He tells us quite
plainly that these practices had hern persisted in for two yean
before the stigmata showed themselves, but he nevertheless narrates
how the wounds eventually developed as the result of a nocturnal
vision. A most beautiful and delicate youth, who was himself
marked with the stigmata, appeared to her and pressed her right
hand against his right hand saying, “ I wish thee to suffer along
with me." To this she gave consent, and on the instant in her
own right hand a wound was formed. About ten days later the

» A%dnta fMluiw, VoL XVIII. pp. 315—16.

mOHATA

left hand wax similarly marked, and in course of time the feet and
side. We are further told that at first Lukardis, “ fearful of vain
glory and the adulation of men," hid the wounds by wearing
something in the nature of gloves, but afterwards she was super-
naturaily admonished to allow the marks to be seen " for the glory
of God and the devotion of the faithful.” The wounds, as in the
case of so many other stigmatics of later limn, bled regularly on
Fridays, but not seemingly on other days.* On the Friday in
Easter week they hardly showed at all (vix appart bant rim vulntra ),
but on the Friday which followed they began to be compicuous
again " because she of her own accord had been solicitous to revive
them ” {quia ta per u studueral taiovare ). 9

It will not, I trust, for a moment be supposed that the conclusion
to be drawn from these facts is that in all cases of stigmata the •
wounds must be held to have been consciously or unconsciously
self-inflicted. Such an inference, in my opinion, would be very
rash, and, as 1 hope to show, quite unjustified by the evidence
available. But whilst we may vigorously dissent from the argu¬
ments of such writers os Mcrkt and Hampe when applied to die
stigmatization of a St. Francis, it must also be admitted in fairness
that cases of sclf-infliction arc not a prion impossible, and that
consequently each example requires to be scrutinized narrowly and
judged upon its own merits. 1 As the example of Elizabeth of
Herkenrode shows, the very vividness of the dramatic realizations
of the trance state may lead the ascetic quite unconsciously to
maltreat himself, arul there is no reason in the nature of things why
the boring of the hands or feet should not occur as spontaneously
as the buffeting of die face or the beating of die body. Perhaps
some of die incidents which so often recur in the lives of the Saints,
when after a night of prayer the limbs of the man of God are found
almost dislocated and his shoulders black and blue, should not be
too confidently attributed to the agency of demons, but may
possibly be explained as an intensely dramatic realization of the
outrages endured by our Saviour at the hands of the executioners
who so cruelly beat and tortured Him.

* Hid. pp. 317 and jaB- * Ibid. p. 322.

• St Rita of Gascia, though not a complete Migtnauca, had for seven Yean
(*443-50) • wound in the forehead which w*» auppuand to Imc been inflicted
on her by our Lord with the Crown of Thom*. Thu wound festered and hrr
luperion in cun*equmce forbade her to go to Rome for the Jubilee of 1450.
Whereupon, after prayer to God, the wound disappeared and St. Rita went to
Rome in the company of her townsfolk. To suppose a supernatural cautr at
work here both in giving and in removing the wound *eea» Wxtdoui. J.H.G

Wku St. Francis' Sttomata Unique ?

Whether St. Francis was or was not the first in time to bear upon
his body the marks of our Saviour's wounds, there can be no
possible dispute as to the immense impression which this marvel
produced upon the minds of contemporaries. The key-note is
struck in the letter which Brother Elias sent to the Provincial of
♦ France, and probably to other Provincials, immediately after the
death of the Saiut.

And this said [so Elias wrote] l announce to you great joy, even
a new miracle. From the beginning of ages there has not been
heard so great a wonder, save only in the Son of God, who is
Christ our Cod. For, a long while before his death, 1 our Father
and Brother appeared crucified, bearing in Isis body the five
wounds which arc verily the Stigmata of the Christ; for his hands
and feet had as it were piercings made by nails fixed in from above
and below, which laid open the scars and had the Mark appearance
of nails; while his side appeared to have been lanced, and blood
often trickled therefrom.*

Thomas dc Cclano. or whoever was the author of the Book of
Miracles, equally describes this portentous event as something
unheard of since the world began, and the fame of it was not long
in reaching all parts of Christendom, when it was enshrined in
such popular chronicles os those of Vincent of Beauvais and
Matthew Paris (»./., Wcndover). Of course one of tlur earliest
references to St. Francis' stigmata now preserved to tu is that
contained in the following note written by the hand of Brother
laso beside the blessing which liis beloved Father Francis traced
for him over his own name:

* It n uncertain whether the rcatlimr should he “ diu ante mortem,** or
" jS’cn diu ante mortem." I follow Mr. Reginald EUlfnur in preferring the
latter.

1 1 burrow thh tratuiatim from the lair Mr. Reginald lialfour* Smipfik
Ktt/nw, p 3&. The only text preserved to u* teemi, unfortunately, lomrwhat
corrupt.

STICMATA*

4f»

The Blessed Franca, two years before his death, kept a Lent in
the hermitage of the Alvcrna in honour of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, Mother of God, and Blessed Michael the Archangel, from
the feast of the Assumption of St, Mary the Virgin to the feast of
St. Micliacl in September. And the hand of the Lord was laid
upon him Alter the vision and speech he had of a seraph, and
the impression in his body of the Stigmata of Christ, he made these
Praises which are written on the other side of the sheet, and with
his own hand he wrote them out, giving thanks to God for the
favour that had been conferred on him. 1

The authenticity of this priceless memorial of the Saint is now,
practically speaking, unconteitcd, and we cannot too strongly
emphasize the fact that Brother Leo himself in this autograph note*
not only vouches for the reality of the stigmata, without, however,
describing them in detail, but also expressly assigns their appearance
to the forty days* retreat on Mount Aivcma “ two yean before his
death." With regard to the nature of the stigmata our main
source of information is Thomas of Celano, especially in his first
Life of the Saint. This, which was written at earliest two years,
and at latest four yean, after the death of Francis, had been under¬
taken by the express command of Pope Gregory* IX. The im¬
portance which Celano attached to the stigmata is apparent from
the concluding sentences of the Life, in which he relinquishes the
plural of authorship and recurs to the first person singular used in
his prologue. ** For the love of the Poor Man who died upon the
cross and by His sacred wound-marks which blessed Francis bore •
in liis body, I beseech all who read or hear this story to be mindful
before God of me die sinner who wrote it.” In this Vita Prima the
description of the stigmata runs as follows:

And while he (Francis) continued widiout any clear perception
of its meaning (t.c, the vision of die seraph), and the strangeness of
the vision was perplexing his breast, marks of nails began to appear
in his hands anti feet, such as lie had seen a little while before in
die Man crucified who had stood over him. His h a n ds and feet
seemed pierced in the midst by nails, the heads of the nails appear¬
ing in the inner part of the hands and in the upper part of the feet
and their points over against them. Now these marks were round
on die inner side of the hands and elongated on the outer side, and
certain small pieces of flesh were seen like the ends of nails bent

1 R. Balfour, Saaphir Kttpiskt, p, 67,

Till PHYSICAL J»miXOUE?»A OP HYSTICIEII

and driven back, projecting from the rest of the flesh. So also the
marks of nails were imprinted in his feet, and raised above the rest
of the flesh. Moreover his right side, as it had been pierced by a
lance, was overlaid with a scar, and often shed forth blood so that his
tunic and drawers were many limes sprinkled with the sacred blood. 1

Again in his description of the dead body of Francis, Cclano says:

His sinews were not contracted as those of the dead are wont to
be, his skin was not hardened, his limbs were not stiffened, but
turned this way and that as they were placed. And while he
shone with such wnndiom beauty in the sight of all, and his flesh
had become still more radiant, it was wonderful to see amid his
Jiands and feet, not the prints of the nails but tire nails themselves
«formed out of his flesh and retaining the blackness of iron, and his
right side reddened with blood.*

/Vll dial T have just quoted in the text was unquestionably
written, as already stated, within four years of St- Francis’ death.
Tire first notable development of this primitive account (which
pact M. Sabatier and Dr. Mcrkt is in no way inconsistent with the
letter of Brother Elias) consists in the statement of the Book of
Miracles that the nails in the stigmata were in some sense rigid,
and that if pushed in on one side they protruded more on the other.
To be precise lire author says, speaking of the crowds who came to
look upon the Saint's body at Assisi:

They beheld the blessed body adorned with Christ's wound-
* marks, that is to say they saw in the liands and fret not the Assures

• OUrvo H M ju—95 »Ld. Alenina), Tram. A. C P e r m s Howell. As the
exact wonting of CHanu i* important, I give (hr Latin :

“ Manus rt pnlcs eius in ipu medio cJavis cottiixi videbanlur, davurum
capitibui in intmun pane nunmnn cl superior* poium aoparratibu*. et rorum
acummibm cxisicntihua rx ad verm. Hr ant rttim sign* ilU rotunda interim in
ruanibus, eatmm autrtn obbutga. et carunrula qurdarn xpfnrcbai quail
summit** clav'orjm retort.* rt repereuwa qiur camrm rriiquam excctiebsL. Sic
et in petlibui impress* crant tiqua cLtvuruin et a came rcliqua ejevata."
Alnym, p. 98.

Cf tbr TrmWvt d* Sfoxitulii which for the last two sentences, at I ttiall notice
Inter, substitutes the fcmowing:

“ Erantque clavnrtun capita in manibta et prdibut rotunda rt norra, ipsoruin
vero annum* oblongs et rrpemma que dr ipta urue •urgentia carnet 1 1 reli*
quom escedehant," Alm^on, p. 344, and further on “ vidrhant non davorum
puiu tuiut mi ipsos davr* ex dut came virtute divina mirihcc fabrifacto*. Imo
came ddrm itmaous, qui dun* a part? quahbel inecarrmtur. jtrot mu* qua*! nem
coniinui ad partem oppoaitam mulubam.’* IM. p. 345.

* I (Mann ii. | IIJ " non daromm quidem puntmraa «ed ipva clivus ex
dm came compositor. fciri rrtruta nigredmr, ac drxtrum iatui sanguine
rubrlcaium."

mClMATA

of the p*?U but the nails themselves marvellously wrought by the
power of God, indeed implanted [innatot) in the flesh itself, in such
wise that if they were pressed ir on either side they straightway, as
if they were one piece of sinew, projected on the other. They also
saw his side reddened with blood. We who recount these things
ourselves witnessed them, we felt them with the same hands with
which we now write, with tear-filled eyes we traced wliat wc
confess with our lips, and that which we have once sworn in
fDuelling the holy Gospels we proclaim aloud for all time. 1

There seems little room for doubt that the author nf the Book
of Miracles was Thomas of Cclano himself, though medbeval
notions of literary responsibility are so strange that 1 should not
venture to affirm too positively that by these words Cclano pledge^
his own credit personally as distinct from that of the cvr-witnessca
whom he here takes into a sort of literary partnership. Wc cannot
date the treatise very exactly, but it must have been produced
during the generalsliip of John of Parma, i.e., between 1247 and
1257, in any case more than twenty years after the death of St.
Francis. Still this testimony of one who, with an unmistakable
reference to the controversy which had arisen regarding the reality
of the stigmata, so loudly proclaims himself an eye-witness, is of
the highest importance. On the other hand one further addition
found in the Fiontti but wanting in the rarliest accounts, the
Ltgenda Major of St. Bona venture not excepted, leaves an uncom¬
fortable impression that the very strangeness of the miracle opened
the door to the acceptance of mytliica) developments. At any rale /
wc read in the FiortUi that after the vision of the Seraph —

Anon in the hands and in the feet of St. Francis the marks of
nails began to appear after the same £ishinn as he had just seen
in the body of Jesus Christ crucified, ... and even so were his hands
and his feet picired through the midst with nails, the heads whereof
were in the palms of the hands and in the soles (ric) of the feet,
outside the flesh, and die points came out through llie back of the
hands and of the feet, where they showed bent back and clinched
on such wise that under the clinching and the bend, wliich all stood
out above die flesh, it would have been easy to put a finger of the
luxnd, os in a ring; and the beads of the nails were round and black.*

• Cclano (Ed. Alencoo), p. J45; Van Ortroy 10 AnaltrUx Bdlmdima, XVIII

pp. 81-1 ia (1899). 1 hr Latin teat of the more significant words has been given

in a previous note.

• FiortUi , tram, by W. Hrywood, p. 103.

Hit rffVSOVL t’ltEK'OHlXA Of ST1C&M

1 may confws that, in spUe of the endorsement of inch a writer as
j. j urgeusen, 1 I was at first mcLinecE to look upon Lhe story of dime
widely curving nail-points, under which a huger could he thrust, as
a Lite accretion. But the description seems beyond question to
date back to Minor of Sl + Bcn3 venture, anq consequently

must he older than 1274. The words used by St. Bon a venture itre
precise, and the passage is the more remarkable because this detail
does not appear iti the Legends Afajw r of which the Ltgaula Minor
iz professedly only a. compendium, 1 In any case this testimony t»
of the first importance in a study of St. Francis* stigmata.

The heads of the mils in the hands and feet [says St. Bona-
venture were round and black, and the points, which were sonic *
jwhai long, clinched and bent back, rose up fratu die flesh itself
and itood cut clear of the surface. Indeed the clutched portion
of the nail* beneath the feet was so prominent, and ptojeelcd so
far, that not only did it prevent the soles from being set down
freely upon the ground, but a finger of one's hand could easily be
iliscrtt i in the bend under ihcir curved extremities— jp, at least, I
myulf he.'irdjhm titter who had star them with (fair mm rjt.f. 3

This is a very astonishing piece of evidence and one hardly ktn uvs
what ir> make of it,* If it be in literal conkmnity with the truth,
then we inuii perforce say dial St. Franck* stigmata were absolutely
unique in the history of inch phenomena. 1 n tin one, so far as 1 am
aware, of die fifty tv slaty welkutteptcd exAmpla of VttibJt- stigma t.i

1 St, Fitiscii aj Aijui. En;. tr^u, p. jw.

* For mnir [Kan one reuon one mjjjjiE be ifirtpurd So 1 imped 1 nut. ihc dixaip*
ttan of the Curving pujli ijj miirrpolllkio of Isrer date, but lire cdllimi of lhe
Qiiarvtlii nlithn nf Si- ] !n n n vrm i rr'1 wnrlc* ill** >bf ieM in the

CrtfSioi MSS., ionic <,»f lljftn of ttir J-jiJi century, s'^rnSi si WC Trad i: rWK,

hesntqur tb varum capita in oiimbo el pedibu* nuundq el hirtj, jpia
vc:« atuntin a oblafiga. Ectt-ft.i el lejmcttua, <iuje dc ipvrt tirae jUfvnllifl, CSfrtcm
rr] I L| ilaro onsd&iat. SjqUkLcm rrprTcrreii?* i[na * lav < : 111 m mb pfuJIkfl

pronuncni «nu et extra peolrtni, at non toluni ptndn »la lihen .ipplicari non
«nem r I'crun mam infra turvati^nrui jumikm ip*.irwi 4-iu inmi um fieilite-
tmmi lli valrrrt dkptiu mini, lirui ib eii ipse KCcpt, qui (Kulil propriii
CanipeKreitr. [." S. Dcmaven Cues', 0 (>cts. (Ed, Qujracdilju VuJ. VIII. p. ft'/G.

*Tne MinDymnni hut conlrmpaTinr Life of It. John of AlVrrTiiA (lSJ^- 1 ^ 2 )
rrhiln buw thii friar h4d a ukm of Sr. Irmieij. uud linfu be L id Luaij dtime I

lo fcvtheiijgmtia, St. Kramaiaid to hiim ” Surge et bulge-, TEW
ill4 imja corpil liftfiEert ct clivw movtre, et turn. tU ttue rcldlt, experitsidfc
pruba^it w vmttn quad Kntrf pmuit in le^tub, quod duns a

liarie m»librt premermtur, n| partem Op^Mitnm mutlAbmit “ Au^.

VoL II, [i. 4^1'.. It h cut lulu dm idle tlaaiplim of the mill here quoted si
frwo the *ban]d be verbally iJmt of the Tf*naiK( 4 t Mbtttufii 1 pcehspi

thu itoHild irf utkcfi .1* 4 Uut the text of the LsfwuU in this punte is ntn 10
rriinbk idles- ill. J.H.CL

STIGMATA

which have been recorded during the past seven centuries, U any¬
thing to he met with which can be pm in comparison with these
rigid protruding nails. IFone hesitates u> pul taith in the accuracy
of the description it is not* of course, because there van tv: any
with to set limits to the Divine Omnipotence* So Christian would
question ill the abstract God'i power* if it pleased Him, id make a
new leg or arm grow in the place of one thai had l«cn amputated,
but in the concrete we might reasonably demand ilic production
of veiy unexceptionable evidence before a miracle so unexampled
in all recorded history could expect to gain credence, 1 The marvel
described in St. Bona venture's Lry/nJa Minor and in the Fmttd is
almoii startling, and It seems to me that liicrc U much excuse For
those who find it easier to explain away the language of Bgna-
vcnturc, and even of Cdano, than to accept their statements a\
dieir face value. If we confine ourselves in what was witten
within the first three or four years after the Saint’s death ut have
nothing which cannot easily be paralleled in the descriptions given
of the wounds of modem sugmatio. nitre was, Cdano *ays, an
appearance in thr palmi of ihe bauds of nail-hradt black and
round. Speaking of die addatnfflta Donirnkii I_.irza.ri as teen
on a Thursday in August, 183$, Ur, Del Cloche sayi-

A bo lit the centre uf the exterior of her hands, that is to say
between ihe metacarp of ihe centre linger and the fourth, (here
k« a black spot resend ding the head of a large nml, Lhc diameter
of which was cine lines (a little more than an English inch) and the
form perfectly round, ll was more elevated in the centre and
declined towards tire edge; when closely observed, it had the
appearance of clotted and dried blood, . . . About the centre of tlsr
instep of the right fool was a wound similar to that on the hands. , ,,

I could not see the mstrp or the left foot, bent use it wai firmly
prtMcd, if not entirely covered by ihe sole tif the right foul.*

1 Dr. Imbcrt-GourbCrTE, /j cnronceucs 3J( '■-■■■7 of niKTUATira-

ika; but it i» ift be noied i 1 l th*i he altitude* jm immemr number of itigiuntiej
who iltough they may haw fell the pain iJinwl no entimi «pi uf wniudi, ami
f'j. th.it th" *vUJem:c is aflcn UflUtidaflory «vcil itbJTc *E| 6 '.r lrtinuncti *rc alicl
to haw vixiblC-

* ijltrr .-fib Eari tf Sfcwdvn etc- {Land, i3+Sl. p 5?- *> Dr I Cloche wm

at IEij 1 itmc Medial SupqnKu^ail nml UifCEtW of the Oupitale t^vkft-
MiJiu-'r'r of the City of Trent Hie lleport from wlix-li thi* extract 0 made
■ppwed in ihr .tjurtfi Uaianali ii AlWfdo** ■ leading fuedkat jutirsal of Mika,
In 1837, Vr>l. 84, n. 355 vq, I Itovc animated the trnuh.rion viith the

Ofiipnal. Tt ■will noticed tint the nai! in tbr land we* on tfw wmttg tide,
luilns, ta trnm probibir* liuj w m 1 mere «Eip of ihr pert* UtftlW fc&IrLllg Ijc™
written for wiffur.

50 THE PHYSICAL PlfEKOMENA m WSTJOLUf

Similarly cut of the witmtisea in the bcittlfjcAiion process of the
stigmatic Giovaijna Maria Bonomi ft *670) explains how ** the
Hrjh of he-r hands stood. om like the head of a nail “ (to car fit JtUi
niT-ni it gli win hr aJi n forma t it Ha testa d'm chi&tio}. It k true that
\s e .ire told in ’ his case that the swelling was red 1 icrmsgtia) , but
if there was any mcnmotinii of blood from the wound a darkening
of colour must at times have been inevitable. Of similar round
" natthearis ” in inch cases many other examples could be cited
from the description of stigmata at all. periods. With regard to
'he appearance of clinching tin the nther side, Cchino 1 * language
in the Vita Prima when attentively cotukkjed amounts to very
hide. He tell* of mark* thut were long rather than round, and of
a cartittulti mg eeunxm reiiquitm «r titebai, in other word* of a sort of
Jillle fleshy ridge which was raised above the surface, Mr, T, W,
\ihcs. who '.idted Dumcniea Lnzjoiri In July* 184?* some few
year* before he entered the Catholic Church, wrote immediately
afterwards to a friend ;

On the outside of both hands, aa they he clasped Together, [rt a
tii"" with the second finger, about an inch from the knuckle, La a
hard scar, of dark colour, rising above the llcsh, half an inch in
length by about thretsdghllis of an inch in width; round these the
tktn alight ly reddened, hut quite free from blood. From the
position of the hands it L* not possible 10 see ivcl 1 inside, but stooping
down on the right of Iter bed I could fthnost see an incision
an .weriug 10 die outward one and apparently deeper . 1

Let it be noted in passing that in Domenka LazzarT* caie no
doubt can exist regarding Lhe vs'Otiniii in the palms of the liauds .
They were seen again and again by several witnesses, many of
wliom declared tfmt Lhe wound went right through.* The main
point, however, k that in some modem stignuttics the wound*
Itnvc exhibited at normal times t.r., apart from the periodical
blooding tm I ’iday?) (hr appearance of a dark raised cicatrice-
This may .dso well have been the cjisc with St. Francis* with the
peculiarity that the scar in the palms, and insteps was circular,

lixle that on the back of the hand and lhe soles <>f the feet was
narrower and more oblong. A slight difierc utr of duipe between
hank odd front would jirolvibly have -a diked to persuade nirditarv.'. [

1 tn FtibVi mttj Lfthd.. 1849). p. m

1 Uiitr -if sbt rtf Shttaabtt/y, p, 33. F. NicoUi, Utjttziiqv *t j#j
Ju 7jnl tl'srir. i 6 f|). Fp 4 * Uj. ri{ :

STjCStATA

5 1

observers, awe-strittkctt in the presence of tMl unhmrd-or marvel,
that wjtat they saw were o sills formed out of the tobnance of the
victim's flesh* Moreover hi twenty years 1 time such an idea, once
suggested, would have taken firm root inudl developed new detaih
until tlie witnesses who actually Ixad beheld the marvel of die
wound-nun ks were ready in perfect good faith to pledge their
solemn word that 'here were not only scars full courticrleit nails
protruding at the buck, under the curve of winch it was pc&sibir
in insert a whole finger, t hope 1 am not taking loo unflattering
a view of die treacherous quality of his:nun memory if 1 affirm,
Ai the result of .van r years' study of historical evidence, that in every
cunsidr ruble body of men there are not a few individuals who,
without coiiid< iiii insincerity, nc oapublr of nimiLs r self-deception*
Unh. i mnutely, when is is a question uf doing honour to the dead
or of advocating a eau.se, it is the more wonderful story which is
the more acceptable. I fit man who mistrust his memory or who
expresses doubts ^ors unheeded, but the bold r.nd picturesque
assertion is welcomed, remembered, quoted, and not infrequently
improved upon*

What lends in my opinion very considerable support to tills
view of St. Prandh’ stigmata h the character of the early represen¬
tation* nf them In nrt. 'Hie venerable and t ] htin gembed artist
Mr. IS". H. J. Westlake, F.S.A., » mnvifrt to Catholic™ now of
sixty-two yean' standing, published mmc time ago a monograph
cm Tht Auihfttiic PotAMn^ of $ 1 , Francis ?f Atdti. In th is lie also
mclurjra admirable reproduction;* of the live earliest portraits nf
die Saint. One of these h believed to dale from before 1220 and
conset|uc-!itlv ihnws irn stigmata, hut the oil in fiiur give prominence
to this fr.it ure, and hr each ease the wounds are rcprese:tn:d simply
m circular, without, 50 far as 1 can sec, the slightest suggestion nf
naib clinched at the buck, Now the picture by Giunta Pisano it
ascribed to al>out the year 1230, font year:* alter tin.- Saint’- death.
It shows die bucks of the hands quite clear!; , but thu wound* ate
simply round spots. Again, the panel at Peschi T by Bonn veil tut a
Bcrlingheri, is clearly dated 1 It exhituti die inside of one
hand and the outside of Ihr other, hut to my eyes e!m: spot in both
is circular, that on the palm seeming slightly larger dum that On
the back. Strange to say, Mr. Westlake remarks:

This plate represents the picture now at Peseta, winch is singular
from die circumstance that one iiand has been turned so as to
show ihc irtndc and the forum lion of die paint of tile nail turned

5? THE PimiCAt, pHErtOUENA OF aJYFTTCTIW

down, which fsJTOij it U iiserted, the flesh assumed. It is so
described in the Bull (if Alexander IV {t a 55)> which says that
44 in his hunch and in his feet he had m(m certainly nails, well-
lb rmed, of hh own Itesh, or or a substance newly produced/' It
is difficult to recognize this in the photograph, hut to show this
fomutifm was undoubtedly tiie object of the reversion of the
hand: and it is still evident in the picture itself* as one gatheri
fmm eye-witnesses. In his other hand the Saint holds a book, 1

Bm if there b any suggestion of the clinching of the nail points,
this h seen in the pdm of the hand, not the back, and consequently
On the wrong side* The photograph of Berlingheri’f picture, so
far as 1 can detect, shows nothing of this clinching, neither does the
engraving of the same panel in die sumptuously illustrated work
SL Friixpi f if Mom. 1 Similarly the two enamels in the Louvre, which
M. IL Maura! assigns to an even earlier date ^(£38-30), exhibit the
stigmunt indeed, but simply as round marks in the hands and feet. 1

it seem* to me, then, that we cannot safely take our stand, a±
does for example Father Michael Bihl, 1 upon the alleged unique
character of St- FrancLi' stigmata, holding them to have ixrcn not
merely wounds but an actual fleshy growth which imitated the
nails of the crucifixion, Father Bihl maintains, no doubt rightly
enough, that his understanding of 1 he facts b fatal to any naturalistic
interpretation, N'o power oi auto-suggestion, no abnormal patho¬
logical conditions, could enable a contemplative to evoke from the
flesh of liis hands and feet four homy excrescences in the form of
* nails, piercing his extremities and clinched at the back. Such a
manifestaiion, if it occur*, must surely be held miraculous. The
question, however, h whether the evidence allows us lo affirm the
existence of these excrescences. There are numerous examples
among the idgmatics of later date of the occurrence of raised scars,
and there seems no reason why these should not so differ in form,
front mid back, a? to suggest io eyes already ovcrwlielmed by the
marvel, the head of a nail in one calc and tlie point in another.
Let us take an illustration from one of the most recent of modem
stigma tics, Gemma Galgani, who was bom In 1878 and died in
1903. The following account, which is that given by her confessor

* Wcsllfllte, fvrt\taitvt s f $t. Fnirttii, p, lO.

1 Kim, 4to, 18®^, p, iTT?. E httve lc*pfcrd at H. Thcdt* From tan Asi\.rt
ito i i*t tCrnth bin }K ■s'ivet eld hrlp.

* H. Mairod, Jim* Ana*r/rpwHHUv (ujoG}.

* Hihl in . Err^irifTT /■'■.-■■' • iquil, pp. 430-1, ud rf. //fifenirV: J.TArfccrA,

p. dole.

STIGMATA

and biographer, Padre Gennnno di S. Stanislao, C.P., will be of
interest in spite of its length, for it illustrates strikingly the pheno¬
menon of stigmatization in general, apart hum its special bearing
upon the point with which we arc for die moment conccmed-

Frora this day forward the phenomenon continued to repeat itself
on tlie day every week, namely on Thursday evening about
eight o'clock and continued until three o'clock on Friday afternoon.
No preparation preceded it; no sense of pain or impression in
those parts of the body affected by it; nothing announced it*
approach except the recollection of spirit that preceded the ecstasy.
Scarcely had this come as a forerunner than red mark* showed
themselves on the back* and palms of both hands; and under the
epidermis a rent in the flesh w;u seen to open by degrees; this u’<y
oblong on the backs of the hands and irregularly round in the palms. After
a little the membrane burst and on those innocent hands were seen
mark* of flesh wound*. The diameter of these in the palms was about
half an imh, and on the backs of the hands the wound was about fee-
eighths of an inch long by one-eighth wide.

Sometimes the laceration appeared to be only on the surface;
at other times it was scarcely perceptible with the naked eye; but
as a rule it was very deep, and seemed to pas* through the hand—
tlte openings on both sides reaching each other, 1 say seemed to
pass, because those cavities were full of blood, partly flowing and
partly congealed, and when the blood ceased to flow they closed
immediately, so that it was not easy to sound them without a
probe. Now this instrument was never used; both because of the .
r e v ere n tial delicacy inspired by the Ecstatic in her mysterious state,
and because the violence of the pain made her keep her ham's
convulsively dosed, also because the wounds in the palms of her
hands were covered by a swelling that at first looked like clotted
blood, whereas it was found to !>c fleshy, hard and like the head
of a nail raised and detached and about an inch in diameter. In
her feet, beside* the wounds bring large and livid around the edges,
their size in an inverse sense differed from those of her hands;
that Is, there was a larger diameter on the irwtep and a smaller one
on die sole; furdicrmorc, the wound in the instep of the right foot
was as large as that in the sole of the left. I bus it must certainly
have brett with our Saviour, supposing that both His Sacred feet
were fixed to the Cross with only one nail. 1

»/j/# r/Crnma Gal#ati. Tramlawd by A. M- O'SulUvan, O-S-B., *ith an
Introduction by Cardinal Ga*quct (Sandi awl Co.), p. tiz-

5 +

- run PimiCAl. l'lIF.NOMEKA Of MYSTICism

One feature wltich w.vs specially remarkable ill Gemou Galgani
was tile mann er of the disappearance of the stigma La each Week,
Tn many cases, as For example in dint of Domencca Lazzsui,
referred to above, the nigenata, when the How of blood ceased,
remained nevertheless very perceptible in the form of a raised
cirairicc or a crmspicuous white or red star. In Gemma*! case at
ordinary times hardly any trace was to fee seen of the niarvr lions
phenomenon, which was of weekly occurrence.

A tfM>n [says Fr, German us] die ecstasy of the Friday was
over, the (low of blood from ad the live wounds ceased immediately;
dir raw flesh hr.did, the Ineetaled tiwuiss healed too> and the
fbUnwing day, ot at latest on the Sunday, not j vestige remained
t if those deep cavities, neither at their centre?, nor around their
edges; the skin having grown quite uniformly with that of the
uninjured part. In colour, however, there remained whitish
marks. 1

It may be well to add tli.it even in the 5jmt subject die pheno¬
mena of iUgmatlzaiinn air not always uniform, tn Gemma
Gulitnm this was especially the case w ith regard in the llcihy
nail-heads ,h in the palms of the hands, described in the above
quotation* Father German us is at pains to insist upon tliis point.
He says ;

In order to be accurate, l wish to mention here, as I said before
’ when treating of this particular «,the nail-head?), that this htsi
phenomenon was <mly observed a lew times, and only in the palms
of the hands, never on the fed; and that occasionally the stigmata
bled without any laceration of die surface, The fleshy nail-heads,
bfrWever, showed themselves, though seldom, and the deep wounds
were the more usual stale of Gemma GalgsmTs stigmata* I say,
the more usual state.*

1 L#?, -J f^rnm* G p. fi'j

* Ibii. p. 41S1 ’Hiii cuTHnu feature d firaViT uaiHiradi £1 not without 1
puta UeL Mod-imr MiulEu of YltErcroxc in Ptwraw, a itupnAlic, who hod these
-Tjr n-TiTTi nhwul 1*140 I lit died dfilv in iSfy, it naSfil It, have iht.wn .,1 ofic
ijmr M^zLing patches in line londj without *ny . apparent rupture of thr rpi-
ilmnUi it otBm tksep m tnd id fuutkuiir iiigmaU " ttul ie prfsentmirju

qilehprefbui nu J» wnl* dWa tlitt Jr rtu« don," T hr*- phi-nnmi-m, which
used to nutnlfbri ihtnueivri quite iiukhniy on luch day* mt Good Friday and it
qihfr prmr.Trid Ktnm, cairfully tlwUnt by 4 nrtaia Dr. Rmnlit

Thu aceovtui* ptocrucd in pi rt in A. N, Vcyland'i Im Pfa&i SuB&fanUt da CM id,
is of quite nmutkikle Lmrrc*J- S« Vcytarf, pfi 591 and jy0 ( 399*

STIGMATA

In juxtaposition to this carefully weighed statement, made by
one who wa» the continuous observer of Gemma's ecstasies, it U
interesting to set down die account given by Dr. Gerald Nlolloy in
1873 of the stigmata of Louise Latcau.* After describing how when
a certain amount of blood had exuded from the wounds, the
spectators wiped it away with linen cloths brought for the purpose,
Dr. Moltoy continues:

The nature of the stigmata was then more distinctly seen. They
arc oval marks of a bright red hue, appearing on the back and
palm of each hand about tlte centre. Speaking roughly, each stigma
is about an inch in length and somewhat more than half an inch
in breadth. There is no wound properly so-called, but the blood
seemed to force its way through the unbroken skin. In a very’
short time, sufficient blood had flowed again to gratify the devotion’
of other pilgrims, who applied their handkerchiefs as had been done
before, until all the blood had been wiped away a second time.
This process was repeated several times during the course of our visit.*

Much capital has been made controversially of the (act that in
Louise Lateau's case thene were no real flesh wounds but only
44 dc petites plates dors ales ct palmaires qui reposent sur dc l^girrs
indurations mobiles." Dr. Dumas, (or example, in the Rrru* dtt
deux Monies has made this admitted fact the Itasi* of his theory
that a local haemorrhage of litis nature can be explained by sugges¬
tion and purely pathological conditions.* But tltcre are many well
observed cases of stigmatization which exhibit wounds of a quite
different character, much more radical and deep seated. Gemma
Galgani supplies one instance in point, Domenica Lazzari, also
mentioned above, furnishes another. 4 To take on eighteenth-
century example. It seems certain that at times the hands of Saint
Maria Francesca delle Cinque Piaghe were completely perforated
in the places of the stigmata. At any rate one of her confessors,
Don Paschal Nitti, deposed upon oath in the process of beatification:

1 Dr. Molloy wu afterward* Rector of University College, Stephen** Crrrn.
Dublin. He wm not only a theologian but a icirmut of dutwcoon

* luit to Lmdsi Laitmt (Lood. 1873), p. 26. Hu* Httfc book give* an
admirably clear account of the phenomena and an abrtraci of Dr. Lcfebvrr'*
medical study of the caie.

' Rrrut dtt dm MonJrs, May tst, 1907, p. 208.

1 Dr. Dei Cloche *avi of her, “ These opening* were real wmiud*. or. if you
will, deep and living idem, but without imrulency or any indication of matter.
The blood which came forth wa* healthy, flowing, vi*cmn and perfectly resembled
arterial blood." l.LitUt af Eati if Sktnrtho?, p. 61J The French vmioii describe*
the bleeding wound* as " de* trou* dam la chair.’' (Vcyland, p. • 77 )

5& Tttfc I'ftVJICAL PHENOMENA OP UYSTTCtlM

I have seen them, I have touched them, and to say the truth I*
as the apostle St. Tltomas did, have put hi my finger into the
woundi of her hand* arid I have seen that the hate extended right
through, far in inserting my first finger into the wound it met the
thumb which I held umlcmeath on the other aide of the hand
{MCTiri mi pom I'tnAizt dtnhs\ la pia%& i'intonlTtiva eel pailiee chi itrme
sottip&Ha Ml' eh tit part* dtlhi mane). And this experiment I have
made in many Lents, and on many Fridays in March, because it
was on such days that the said wounds were most fully developed. 1

It must, 1 think, be obvious enough that these- are not mere
eases of rubdaction and vesication. Whatever such investigators
as Bourru, Burot r Cl tar cot and Boumeville have succeeded in

5 reducing by suggestion in their hysterical patients falls very far
ion of what is recorded of Gemma Gahpmi, Domes mini Lazzmi
and a do^en more whose manifestations cannot here be described.

But to return to St. Francis. If the orifices of his wounds, like
those of Gemma Galgani, were round in front and narrow behind f
and if they had closed, as in. many other recorded cases, by leaving
a raised scab or sc a r where blood had previously flowed, we should
undoubtedly have something which on one side resembled the head
of a nail, and on the other the point of die nail beaten down.
This supposition, it seems to me, will suffice to explain the language
of Cebtnob Fife! Ptima and I do not know that we can safely ask for
more.

It will at Urn some time be understood that the historical evidence
leaves us absolutely no ground for doubting the reality of St.
Francis. 1 wound-marks. t am only contending that they are
probably identical in nature with the phenomena observed in many
later stigmutics. The element of the marvellous in alt the best
attested cases is sufficiently pronounced to need i\o emphfiling.
We can certainly assert with confidence that the wounds could not
possibly have been self-inflicted either ctmscifnisly or unconsciously,
and the material condition* have nearly always been such that
collusion: nr fraud are unthinkable. It is difficult to suppose that
any impartial inquirer could look into the evidence available, let
u» say, ifl the rase of Domenira [jusutri, without being deeply
impressed by its strangeness. We have here a crowd of witnesses,
men of pod dun and Intelligence, like Bertram Earl of Shrewsbury,
the Archbishop of Sydney, T. W, Allies, Dr. Wcedall, Conan
Doyle, M* Gaxales, and a number of other French, English, and

1 r w c t w, A'«iwtflW fiutlw ruptr I 'ufvfiJwi p F 78,

STIGMATA

German pilgrims. TJirv pay their visits at diiFercni times, form
their Impressions quite injJeptndeuil)% and yet nil attest (lie same
wonderful phenomena which it was ivell within timer competence
to observe. They sec the dr. scars on the Thursday, and on the
Friday the sd&stloteta in agcuty, the wound* streaming with
blood, and always ai the same hour? they rote the poverty of the
surroundings* they bear witness to her shrinking from all notoriety,
they agree in their accounts of more than one marvellous detail
which seems in direct contravention of the physical laws of the
universe- They at leas: convince us that a problem U there of Lite
deepest and most complex nature, whether we look to the super¬
natural for an explanation or seek to invoke some abuuinml psychic
force of which the world luu hitherto been ignorant.

The Cenl&s of Stigmata

There is nothing perhaps which is more rrtn.irkahlr in this
enquiry than the extreme diversity of the manifestations capable
of being grouped under the general head of stigmatization. No
two cases are precisely alike- Each needs to be examined by itself
and to lie judged upon its own merits- Hence in any attempt to
provide a general view of the phenomena in question the first thing
to be done h to give some idea of the wide range of those external
appearancr: within the limits of which variation exists. To begin
with* stigmatization U by no means confined to those openings in
hands, feet and side which arc commonly regarded as the five
principal wound-marks of mu Saviour's Passion . 1 A large numlwrr
of stigma ilea also bear across the forehead and around the Uc 4 td a
circlet of punctures, aucli is might have been mused by the wearing
of a crown of thorns, ami these punctures, arc often die channels
of a profuse flow of blood- li is certainly 4 remarkable fact that
the man who was condemnedas we have Seen, at the Council of
Oxford, in 1222, is stated by the Barnwell chronicler, a ccmteni-

E Cas-i of imperfect <l%!Tyituinai>n occur.. Apart from St. Rita of C-u--:a
mentioned ibavr, who hml only 3 hflul-htiind, there Are mch {ibaamnii u the
irr,aJL purple marb (the MIC Of a penny) found at tiealb nn the nkf of tbf feet
of Bv Alphoiwui Oroico (t 1591), and the wound in the tide afSuor Maria ViUani*
O.P. T wJiilI 1 Pit,:. {ip. 550—J ■ w n t'-eit u 4 couched by her three Docnmkifl r<#*
fcHOfS, mm they Haw in their uftned ctcpodlkim, Ofl 12 ami jg Novcmbw ifijio
and it, March lEiai. When Liter on Dt.ma Mar^Jrlti ii’Arapon Princes of
hmjpwrw wishrd la tet the wound. It wat only the try unction of the auiOwn
that brought Suoe Maria to tliow LC under pr"te*L inr] after thii the wnifid
disappeared and wju OQl seen -.grin; though Sunr Maria lived until 1670. J.tLC.

58 TlH PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF MYSTICISM

porary, to have shown wounds, nor only in his hands and feet, but
on the head as well. This is the more remarkable because St.
Francis of Assisi’s various biographers mention nothing of the sort
in his case, and it is therefore highly improbable that the Barnwell
chronicler can have introduced this detail at a later date in imitation
of anything he had heard of St. Francis. Apart from this very
puzzling instance of the alleged impostor of 1122, the earliest
example of a stigmaric crown of thorns appears to be that of
Elizabeth of Herkcnrodc, the Cistercian nun, whose dramatic
enacting of die scenes of the Passion has been described in a
previous chapter. Abbot Philip of Clairvaux, who, after being
for a time incredulous, came to witness die phenomena for himself,
has left a minute account of her sdgmata and of the blood which
% undcr his own eyes flowed from the wounds. The crown of thorns,
however, he did not see—this manifestation was apparendy of
comparatively rare occurrence in Elizabeth’s case—but he tells us
in the following terms wliat he heard from the Benedictine Abbot
of St. Trond, who was her confessor and neighbour.

The aforesaid Al>lx>t related to ine and to my companions how
on Good Friday in die year 1266 the virgin of whom we speak, in
an interval between two of the ecclesiastical houn, a time when
ordinarily she liad a respite from her sufferings, began to feel a
pain in her head and was quite unable to keep it still upon her
pillow in the same position, hut continued turning it incessantly
this way and that. Whereupon die Reverend Mother and sisters
aforesaid, noticing this, lit a tamp and closely and attentively
examined the maiden’s head. Then they perceived and pointed
out to those present the punctures as it were of thorns, reddened
with drops of blood, encircling that virginal head like a crown and
figuring die thorny crown of our Saviour. 1

This would under normal circumstances be rightly considered
very unsatisfactory* evidence, hut when we remember that Abbot
PJtilip, writing in the third quarter of the thirteenth century, liad
no precedent before him for any such phenomenon, and that it
exactly agrees with the numerous descriptions given by medical
eye-witnesses of die coronal stigmata perceptible in a score of
modern ecstatic*, it is unreasonable to doubt that the narrative
reproduces the facts with all desirable accuracy. Here, for ex-

1 CataJonu CoAnvm HagutgrtfihutMmi B<b. Rtf. Btuttiltwu, cdiikninl lUgu>
graph! BoJUndianL Vol I, p. 376.

STIGMATA 59

nmple, b the summary which Dr. Gerald Malloy furnishes of this
feature in the case of Louise Laleau:

As to the coronet around the head, it consists of a Large number
of bleeding points which arc visible on Fridays only, and which
present an appearance peculiar to themselves. They cannot be
conveniently examined under the hair. But on the forehead where
they are from twelve to fifteen in number, they form a band alvout
an inch wide, midway between the roots of the hair and the eye¬
brows. There is no permanent discoloration of the surface, no
appearance of a blister, no exposure of the under skin. But with
the aid of a magnifying glass, it b possible to detect exceedingly
minute punctures of the epidermis, through which the blood
escapes. 1

Dr. Imbert-Gourbeyre, who had innumerable opportunities
during nearly twenty yean of studying the case of Maric-Julie
Jahenny, describes the punctures round her head as being as large
as hemp seeds, 1 but in Domcnica Lazzari and a good many other
instances the punctures were still larger and the flow of blood much
greater and more continuous. In a considerable proportion of the
stigmatics whose history has been minutely recorded, the reproduc¬
tion of the crown of thorns formed the first stage in the development
of the whole series of stigmata ; in some few other cases the crown
of thorns remained visible externally when the stigmata in the
hands disappeared, apparently because it would ordinarily be
hidden by the wimple of a nun’s headdress, and in large measure,
of course, by the Imir. Thu matter of concealment, as we shall
have occasion to notice later on, seems, in a vast numlicr of in¬
stances, to have had a decisive influence upon the appearance,
disappearance, and development of the stigmata. Many of the
holicit of such mystics, finding that the wounds upon their liands
could not be hidden and that they attracted general respect and
veneration, prayed earnestly to God to lie freed from such a snare
to their humility. They asked that they might still share the pain
which their crucified Saviour felt in His hands and feet, without
any external manifestation of their privileged condition. As a
result we find that in a considerable number of cases the wound-
marks disappeared within a short time of their first infliction and
before the attention of anyone, except perhaps the confessor, the

1 G. Motloy. A Visit u tsmau iMraa (Land., 1673), p. 5a.

* La Shfmatuatnm, II. p. 69

tiix physical phenomena op mystichm

superior, or some trusted confidant, had been directed to the
matter. Whether this withdrawal of the external manifestation*
ought to be described a* miraculous, or whether it was the natural
result of concentration upon the fixed idea that all such outward
marks of God's favour were dangerous to the soul and ought to be
repressed, is perhaps not the least perplexing of the many problems
which beset the inquirer into these psycho-physical phenomena.

Whatever lie the conclusion arrived at, it is noteworthy that in
a large number of cases, some of them dating back to the earliest
times, the stigmnuc has declared—and there is absolutely no reason
to doubt her sincerity—that the sense of interior pain in the part
affected preceded by many months, or even by yean, the risible
appearance of scars or bleeding wounds. 1 The Life of Lukardis of
, Obcnveimar, already referred to in previous pages, is peculiarly
interesting in tills connection. Somewhere about the year 1298
she seems to liave been possessed with a most ardent longing to
share the sufferings of Jesus Christ ami to have made incessant
prayer that the memory of His Passion might never fade from her
heart. In the end, says her contemporary biographer, she was
heard according to her desire:

For she saw in the spirit that she ought to pass through a certain
door in which she found Jesus Christ as it were recently fastened
to the cross, scored with the weals of th£ scourges and most pitifully
dripping with blood. As she looked intently upon Him the servant
of God fell at His feet swooning and almost lifeless. Then our
Lord said to her : ** Risr up, My child, and help Me " ; by which
she understood tliat she ought not to be content with merely calling
His sufferings to mind but that die was meant to help Him by
voluntarily sharing in His Passion. At Christ's word, accordingly,
recovering at last something of her strength, she answered trem¬
blingly: "How can I help Thee, my Lord?" And thereupon
raising her eyes she saw His right arm loosened from the cross and
hanging feebly down, by which it seemed to her that the pain of
die suffering Christ was greatly intensified. So die beloved hand¬
maiden, drawing near in tender compassion, strove to tie up the
arm again to the cross with a thread of silk, but she could not

1 An interfiling cair of inchoate tturmaia it lluit of Mary Agnes Steiner,
Cl arrua and rrfomicr of the convrnt of Noccra (1813-62). The Process of 1909]
Amhs tnpt* ixlraibtaixm relate* that on mch occasions as Good Friday a

deep red or pnrplr mart appeared nn tier haruii, looking like the head of a nail,
and at I he tame time hrr body emitted an extraordinary fragrance, but there
seems to have been no blending V«r the Ptoitia, pp 18^-217. J.H.C.

STIGMATA

succeed. Accordingly she began to lift His arm with her hands
and with deep groaning* to hold it in its place. Then our Lord
said to her: “ Place thy linnds against Mv hands, and thy feet
against My feet, and thy breast against My breast, and in such wise
I shall be so much helped by thee that My pain will be less.” And
when the servant of God liad done this she felt interiorly the most
bitter pain of the wounds both in her hands and in her feet and in
her breast, although the wounds were not yet manifest to the
outward eye. It was after this that site formed the liabit of knock¬
ing her hands together with great force so that the noise was heard
far and wide as from the collision of two planks. 1

I have recounted in previous pages how Lukardu was accustomed
to bore, as it were, the palms of her Irnnds by striking thera #
violently with the opposite fore finger. Still, some two years
seem to have elapsed after the above incident before any wound
showed itself outwardly. The first was in die right hand and it is
said to have appeared quite suddenly after a vision. Ten days
later a similar wound showed itself in the left hand and after this,
with intervals between, wounds also in the feet and side. The last
of these charismata to be made manifest outwardly was the crown
of thorns. The biographer’s account of tltis is also interesting.

When thus there appeared one after another upon the body of
the servant of God the traces of the anguish of Christ’s Passion
which long before had been engraved upon her heart by constant
remembrance, it happened on one occasion that a certain nun
questioned that blessed one, saying to her : *' Tell me, dear Sister
Lukardis, since, in accordance with what thy confessor*, Brother
Henry and Brother Ebcrhard foretold,* many marks of Christ's
Passion have now successively appeared upon thy body, is not
the time near at hand for the imprint of the thorny crown to
show itself upon thy brow ? " To whom tliat blessed one answered
thus and said; " You must know that I have long felt and still
feel a very piercing and wondrous pain like a crown of thorns
tightly bound to my head and running into it with its sharp spikes.”
Whereupon, being asked how far across her head she felt this pain,

1 Anuluts BtllanJuna, VoL XVIII, (1899), J»- 314.

* Thar two confessor* were loth Dominicam and we ought perhaps to rrroenv
ber tliat there was tonic little controversy at various times between Dominicans
mad Franciscans on the subject of the stigmata. The Franciscans were disputed
at first to affirm that the case of their holy founder was unique, the Dominicans
claimed, and rightly, that at least many nuns of their Order shared the same
privilege—notably St. Catherine of Siena and B. Lucia of N arm

me vmsn vi Piit^OMENA en UYSTtcirt

■.he iit'.wcral '' I feel (luii pain m fiir .u my h.iir extendi and a
little further t just as If all my hairs were so many sJuup needles
planted :n my kiiEI and penetrating right to the brain.*' Accord-
inyly, the trace* ->f this suffering often became visible,, fur there
somehow appeared from time to time upon her brow the punctures
ai i; were of sharp points. Moreover t die veins of lie: forehead
and temples at titties, showed the riftedves, so swollen that VOU would
think that her whole head was tightly comprised with a hand. 1

1 !j«e account* compiled by obscure mediiarv&J chroniclers seem
to me neverthdea? of gran value, because on the otic hand they
were written down at a period when no tradition ^ould yet have
been formed as to tile course of development commonly followed
by the phenomena t>f stigmatization* and on the other became they
never attained any potable pub!icily. Indeed, it may lx: said that
these details have only been printed and given to the world within
quite recent times. Nevertheless, they accurately agree in thrir
more general features with the description furnished by numerous
witnesses of the manifeidtious common among the more remark¬
able stigma tics of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and
still frequently t«j lie met with in our own day.

Let rne «uEd* before we leave t|v subject of the crown of thorns,
ih.ii in the case or at least some few stigma tics, this sign alone has
been perceptible externally. Tins, for example, is recorded of
Mary of the Holy Trinity, a Dominican nun in Spain,, who died in
tbtio, and much the q. !. i i? may be said of the Blessed Osanrut
Andreasi If 1505) who experienced the pain of the crown of thorns
before any of tbe tkhei sufferings of the Passion. 3 Chuuma, how-
evcfj endured the pangs of the other stigmata 33 wetl, and tliey
O Otank toahy showed externally, so that Don Genesfo, Archpriest of
Rivarolo, was able to depose that he had sometimes seen in the
paEn^^ of bei hands, on Wednesdays am! Fridays 01 during Holy
Week, " a small black swelling which looked as if it were full of
blood." 1 However this may be, QsarmaV stigmata became plainly
visible in Iter dead body, and more than a century and a half later
Faiher Jauning, the Bollondist, visiting. the Saint 1 * incorrupt
idwiaini at Mantua, wrote that the wounds of the hands and (eel

1 AnJtfCn VdL XVfTt, p, jjj.

t ’* w . pad fi-cretti, Lm BtUla Dianna A f ulsatii hwi, pp. iOJ *OT

Ptutnbjini Zapjuiu {? f6o8) tbs roccirtd tb crown of thonu iwhicb bled)
my othtr uuaUnterioa: cf ,\ Rotx. Vim v u.15: cC Kite, bv L Gtncpa,
PP* 34 "5 S3 4 . J-ll.C-

1 Uid. p, no.

- - \

could «UJ be seat* Mother Francis Raphael (Drone) mentions
in her Ujt 0 f St. Citlhtrim »f Sima that in Catherine’s dead body also
ilir: sijgmala were iraccable by a sort of transparency in the tissues,
jifl she suits that (he possessed a jplUMograph of one of die Itands
which showed this remarkable detail. 1 It will be remembered that
St. Catherine’* special shar e in the sufferings of die Passion began
in i ,73 with the choice uf the crown of thorns in preference to the
golden crown which our Lord in a virion proffered her ai the same
time. Pressing it down upon her head, we arc told that “ for a
long space after she felt a sensible pain by the pricking of those
thorns. 5 ' 1 1 1 l thr ensr >x mm m the latest ttigmatics of whom we
have record, Sister Maria della PassiOne H her coofcxior rebtea that
in ' initiation began in Holy Week, [903, when nur Saviour took
off m own trowTi of thortu and gave it to her. The other stigmata*
were bestowed later in the same year and as a ride these bled, every
Friday until her death in tgia, 4 A very curious modern example,
remarkable for the range and varieu h though not for the intensity*
of the manifestations. Is t h at of Murie-Julic Jahcniiy, already spoken
of, a Breton peasant girl In the village of La Imudais (Loire*
lnlcrirure). The case was closely watched for more than twenty
vears by Dr. lmbcrt*Goiirbcyre at the request and with the full
sanction of Iter diocesan, Monscigncux Fournier, die Bishop of
Nantes, who himself seem* to have had no doubt of the supernatural
character of the pbrnonuen* observed. Dr. ImherKfutn-beyre was
a man who in historical matters entirely Licked the critical sense*
bn 1 teeing that For thirty-six years he was a professor at the Medical
School of Clermont-Ferrand* be cannot have liecn wlsdly mcoro-
peleni as a witness in pathological frets, and hia good faith was
questioned by none, From his own personal observations hr wrote
in 1S94 the following summary of Mnric-Julic's successive ex*
jferienre! in the mailer of the stigmata-

On the 2! st March, 1873, she received the marks of the five
wounds; the crown of thorns followed on Oct, 5th ; on the 25th of
November appeared an imprint on the left shoulder, and on the
6th of December the dorsal stigmata in hands and fcet> On

* AASS. June, YoL lV r , p, 50. ,H Apjiirtt in imefro Heats oorpon vultui
miUibi kWp T apparent nil H i pctlrt rouiuiquc, in thquc vniigim wnorum nig-
pwtum dare coaipiciuntta.”

* if it. GnjAvriar* l- p. gi »„ nure. 1 p. *tt.

* Furttim, ITfii <ti 5. MttftA Mia P-i.5i 1 pp i&$

* It would item that lu Shrdi tfatiinb had ntily appeared on the uuUt of the

hAikii an-ri [>□ thr intiepL

64 tut PHYSICAL PHESO&flLWA QT MYSTKIISM

Jan. I jib, [^74. her wrists showed murk-, corresponding to those
which the? cord:; must have produced when our Saviour's arms
were bound, and on the same day a sort of emblematic pattern
developed in front of her heart. By Jan. 141b stripes had appeared
on her ankles, legs and forearms in memory of the scourging* and
a few days afterwards there were two weal? on her side. On the
Joth February a stigmatic ring was seen on the fourth finger of the
right bind 1 in token of her rnyatk espousal a; later on there
appeared various inscriptions on the breast, and finally on Dec.
7th, 1^75, the wards O Crux at* with a cross and a flower. 1

When sjleaking more in detail of this last incident, the same
writer tells us that iti 1875 Marie-Julie—

t announced ft month bcforelumd, and several time; over, that she
was shortly to receive a new Jtigmatization, and that a 1x0*3 and
a flower with the words O Otuf my were to be impressed upon her
breast, More (.hati a week be fort Lhc event occurred she named
s hr precise dav: it was to be (he “th of December. The day before
this her breast was examined, when it was ascertained that the
emblems spoken of had not ycr made their appearance. On the
morrow, before the ecstasy ciunc on, she offered to submit to
another examination, but this was considered unnecessary; she
had the right 10 cispeci that we should take her word for it. Soon
after she passed into a state of trance, and while tikis wonderful
device wai developing, her family and lhc witnesses who were
present were able to testify lo the inr unpurable fragrance whfoh
exuded from her body and made itself perceptible through her
clothes. When the ecmuy wju over, the crow, the flower and the
inscription could be dearly seen upon her breast.*

Pr. Irabert-Coarbcyrr adds, Exiting Lo 1B04, nearly twenty
year? after, '* the flower and the Inscription are visible -r ilfl r ~

T have quoted this description on purpose, because there are
elements in, it which certainly do not inspire confidence. The keen
interest which Marie Julie :ecrrn 10 have taken In the impress ion
she wa» making and the readiness to offer herseff for medical
examination, contrast strangely with the intense reluctance to direct
attentirtn to ihemsehtesorto allow any part of tbeir bodice to be

’ It li to hr mnriitWeU that lhc Pontifical/ ftemmm (Jirecu that in the
frxuun (if a religious ik fits - it in br pul oa the ring tir..i;*r p( [he nwn'i rj/,11
land

1 Imbct-tiouiljfyTf. La f'r£indHtifll, Vo l, II p. 47.

*lbd p ti.

mo WAT A

uncovered even for the inspect ion of a doctor or a bishop, which U
conspicuous an almost every line written by such Saint* as Si.
Veronica Giuliani, Sh Teresa, or St. Catherine 01 KkeL St.
Veronica, for example, when her vdl, contrary- 10 the rigid tradi¬
tions of (lac Capuchin Or tier to which nhc belonged, was removed,,
to oinblr the llishnp and other r cledastics to ins pet: t the marks
of h« crown of thorns, could only console herself by recalling to
mind how our Lord was stripped of His laments. 1 Indeed. I
ought say in general that this intense unwillingness to court
notoriety for any supernatural favour bestowed by God ii the trait
which, has impressed me most deeply, and has seemed most uniform
%n the lives of those whom popular esteem, as well as the sentence
of the Church, lias proclaimed to be the truest followers; of a heir
Lord and heavenly Spouse. At tht *aane tunc, to return to ihf
ease of Maric-Julic, die seems undoubtedly to have lived in ob¬
scurity for more than twenty yean, and to have retained during
dial lime the good opinion of ecclesii.itkdl authority. Further, it
is difficult to believe that a physician of some standing in the
medical world could have been irapAetl upon for all that bug
space of lime by a peasant girl in a remote country village who
had simply tattooed herself with a needle or had recourse to some
other obvious trick- Dr. Irubert-Gombcyrc had also had a good
deal if. do with Louise La lean, and it must be remembered that in
her case fraud is nut imputed. Critics only object that the pheno¬
mena were insignificant in themselves and that they can be
adequately explained by pathological causes. In any ease we may
admit that patterns and Inscriptions, though evanescent in their
nature, have been produced at the Salpitriike upon the tltih of
hysterical subjects by dmplr suggestion, lliis is the “ dermr>-
grapheme " of T. Bnthtflfany and other French medical scientists,
and though of comparatively rare occurrence, the fact is not to be
denier!,*

The reference mad" above to St, Veronica Giuliani reminds me

Ftxj-itana, f/l Time Nwrtt, I TV JTSK 4fl® and n nit, and pp
*<vq jmu*; ,. c .„ "Mi noCHdo," n.Tita Veronica,, coetplyinv with an ordrr of
nbcdicELcr, “ ehe d Supwinrr Vrtme qtlt. f *eUr «dttr In diinto ■) &tln <_>Lii
nan m djr= il pvtirc ckr flti fn Pcruava <U RKinrif datLa ffran rrpLignama tbc
wnnva Sia mm* a gWi* ili

*1| iboaUi be noted, howerer, iha! tfcw F> derroognphmDn '' icrra to tw

B reduced by lubeutimioiu canpcflilHL e*f Lb- capUariri ^ntmul h:*liiusrLji<e,
r [ nRhilv imerarrt Dr. hnberi-Gourbcytt 1 * description!, the pjtienu on Hi*
bnswr’of Miu-it-jutie lvmx formed tv tin* head* of dotted bipod which
fonxd their way through the cpMrmib ilm, at any rate, hr fcr|jliri% iffimU
ljs the cf the cftMwo df thdirj «kI the nij;

THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF MYSTICISM

that we ought to touch at least briefly upon three manifestations
occasionally present in stigmatic subjects which in her case were
specially emphasized and particularly well attested- The first was
the wound in the shoulder, corresponding to that which tradition
ascribes to our Lord as the result of His carrying of the cross. The
Saint herself in one of her Relations, that written by the command
of hrr Bishop, Mgr. Eustachi, in 1700, gives an account of the first
occasion on which she felt this pain, which was afterwards frequently
renewed. At her death there was found upon the right shoulder
" una lividura ben grande,*’ marking the scat of a former wound,
and besides this the shoulder-blade was seen to be bent and de¬
pressed in an extraordinary degree, so much so that the two
surgeons who inspected it declared in their formal depositions that
^t was inexplicable to them how she could have retained the natural
use of her arm. It should, however, be mentioned that the Saint,
in making the stations and in other pious exercises, used to drag
about with her a heavy cross of wood, which may be in part
responsible for the effects observed. 1 Several oilier Saints (for
example St. Catherine of Ricci) also had llie wound on die shoulder,
in some cases on the right, in others on the left, and, we may notice
in pasting, that there is a similar or even greater variation regarding
the positions of the wound in the side. Some stigma tics have had
it opposite or even above the heart, odiers almost under the arm,
and eidier on the right side or on the left, while in form the aperture
has sometimes been a straight cut, sometimes triangular and some¬
times crescent-shaped.

A second notable feature in the stigmatization of St. Veronica
Giuliani is the control which her Confessor seemed to be able to
exercise over the outward manifestations. Veronica received the
stigmata in hands, feet and side, as we learn from herself, in the
course of a long ecstasy on April 5, 1697. She was subjected to
rigorous examinations by Bishop Eustachi and by the Holy Office,
the details of which caused her so much mental anguish that again
and again she prayed to God that these external manifestations
might cease. It seemed to her, however, that our Lord told her
in a vision that the stigmata must remain visible for three years,
and so in fact it happened, for on the 5th of April, 1700, the scan
in hands and feet disappeared, though the open wound in the side
still remained and sometimes bird profusely. After that date the
opening of the stigmata was only intermittent, but, as we have

1 See (or ail thu PoDarii, Vn Ttaro Xu zeitt, nsu Jiarx* A i S. \'no/wa Ciuluiu
(10951 I* PP »7S-4* PP 3°*H>

STIGMATA

already seen in the case of Gemma Galgani, even those wounds in
hands and feet on occasion would manifest themselves and bleed
and then close again without leaving any trace. 1 With regard to
the side, she herself states in her Relation:

There were times when the Father Confessor said to me, " How
long will the perforation in the side remain open ? " I replied,
" Out Lord seems to wish it should remain open for so many
hours or days " according as 1 had been given to understand, and
exactly at that time it would close again. But sometimes be (the
Confessor) said to me, “ 1 do not wish it to close before such a
day or such an hour." Anil in fact it would happen so. . . . If
I am not mistaken the Bishop on one occasion did the same thing.
He came here with certain of God’s servants and they wished to
sec tins wound in the side open, to my great sorrow. Then the
Bishop told me that he would come again the next day but wished
the wound to be closed. And so precisely it came about. These
things have been a very great suffering for me. May it be all for
the glory of God.*

The third point suggested by the history of St- Veronica Giuliani
it one which is far too perplexing and wide in its applications to be
dealt with adequately here without a long digression. It is con¬
cerned with the appearances alleged to lie found after death in
the heart and viscera of many of die servants of God who have
been honoured with the stigmata. Veronica seems to have had
before her mind throughout the last years of her life a tort of
clairvoyant mental picture of the physical state of her heart. She
believed that the tissues of that organ had in some marvellous way
hardened into the likeness of the holy objects which had filled her
thoughts during life. There was the figure of a cross and a crown
of thorns, a chalice, three nails, a little pillar, seven swords, and a
number of letters, the initials of certain virtues. So real was this
mental picture that by command of her Confessor she actually
drew plans of it, using the help of two of the Sisters who were
especially dear to her and in her confidence. Still more curious
b the fact that she believed that her heart had been in this state

• The Yen Giovawu Maria Soltmani (t >75*1), when dir tir »1 rrecivrd the
stigmata, had open and bleeding wounds Wbra die prayed lor thoc to be
oonrraimi. tlirv *eezn to haw been covered with *kin width none the lew vicJded
to premier. 6 ne of her confoaon claimed dial he had inserted a small key into
her left palm to a depth of half an inch.

* i'inicjtris lx. pp- 288 - 9 .

<iO THE PHVSCCAI- PHENOMENA OF MYSTICISM

fnr mare ihfrt twenty years And that die arriti^cttifiiit d" these
emblems had often been Altered in regard to their relative position,
frah ones also being added. 1 The rough designs traced upon
paper cm in the form of a heart arc still preserved, and they
represent the supposed arrangement of these emblems in 171 >
1718, 1759.. 1720, and 1727, the year of her death. The most
astounding part of the story K however, the fact that some thirty
hours after death her body was opened by two professors of medicine
and surgery, in the presence of the Governor, Mgr. Tomegmni,
afterwards Cardinal, with a nunducr of other ecclesiastics of note.
The medical witnesses am! the rest drew up a Humid imunmuml
testifying to the liict thin thc^e emblems were ji rtiuilly found in her
hewn in positions corresponding to the Iasi uf the drawings made
by die Saint. I can express no opinion as to this occurrence, but
It is certain that similar wonders have been recounted of many
other Saints ;indi holy persons. St. Te.i tells us (putc pjainlv
in hn autobiography 1 ihat she hud a virion of .t glorious augd who
thrust a long golden spear with a fiery point right into her heart.
Wr have also some indication of the impression this incident pro¬
duced upc ei the Saint in the Jact that she made it the subject of a
hymn it ill preserved to 11$. Now Teresa h. heart unis extractrd
after death and in that heart was found a wide horizontal tifturr,
u those tuny ice to ihu day who visit the relic in in shrine at Alba
de Tortnes, nr wlm procure one of the many photographs of it
which arc in circulation. 1

Another instance, very remarkable aj rating upon the cl ear
evidence of several eye-witnesses whose depositions are itiH pre*
served to ns. Is the wound in the heart of Calcrina Savclli of Setie,
Tills b a stigma tic (she died in 1691)* who has escaped the

1 ll is ttinotuicly {njtaiii, for we have the lUlnuul in lift own tinjirlwrilinn,
Frith dati” A:TP 1700. that ih>* hdfcvod OUT Lord to have iliOwn her the irntru*
nsKtti cf the ftmioti *iwl to have told tier that Hr would vest her bean upth Xib
rminuh And Ihrir tuilibm Pi-1 ii 1, p. 334.

* ChsfW ±ni5t. {jj :ll ;ind 17 .

1 There it not, howi^rr, any euiiJaetofy rvidence dial lab wound wu nut mitHr
ill the «f Iyequvmj, wbidi vrn Irtxfonmd by unikiilnl hwtlrll- St.

■ 1 ir-enw ; JWj, chap, nawm. p, f) to have had iw rtfpcttat visinra, and it a
therefore hard la n bow an iiitdlftuid viiion r suited ill m baddy Ifliofl. J? a> >
^ fail tinraaiejn the matter, K=f £faJtt Oct. icy-jtr, pp.

* la ihii sjiiitr year wai published line Imrtm w^t jtua uf tapes EwiueTTa, who
*►*! the Jim bnovels' 1 cijdj ir M i,r- outright f!i« the hvnjind an [be l^art ,',fSt

Tbth wa due to the dart of the KmplL Such mi lean, ii the vpinian of f^te
Oshrid. OJXC-. rirH in the peevkHU nnle, but ihc language nf CruhWi pwi
c£ i£|B inrphn ihnt he already rrgmtkij the wound in the heart ai due to the
Krapb'i ilairt J.H.C.

STIGMATA

researches of Dr. ImLert-GoUrbeyre* When knrrling Wore the
Blessed Sacrament exposed iti the Jesuit duireh of Serae in 1659,
she iaw in :i trance t;ve rays came from the Sacred Heflt which
wounded her hands, feet and side. She prayed that ihr stigmuta
might nut become known, and her prayer was so ihr lieurd that
nu matks apjieared in the hands, though the side remained upen,
and blood or serum flowed from it at intervals. After death,
however, the traces of wounds in the hands and feet became
perfectly plain, and. what was HKHS noteworthy, the heart bong
extracted, there was found in it a deep fissure of old date, The
physician and die surgeon, who with many ecclesiastics signed the
final attestation, declared that without supernatural intervention
it would have been impossible for anyone to live with sue Si a
wound. 1 And there appear to have been quite a number of
simitar cases, though not all equally well vouched for by con-
temporary evidence. Of Blessed Charles of Seize, who, curiously
enough, was a contemporary and fellow-townsman of Caterma
Savelis, but who died twenty years before her. it is stated that the
Pope ordered that a pest-mortem examination should be made of
hi« remains. Thereupon they found a wound in the heart com*
nletely piercing it, also the figure of a crucifix and the exact facsimile
of a nail buried in the heart and four 01 five inches in lcn£Th. A
document formally attesting these Facts is said to have been signed
by several physicians and surgeons, but T have unfortunately not
been able 10 meet with any copy of it, Charles of Sezrxc^ claims
to heroic virtue have, however, l>cen fully discussed by the Con¬
gregation of Rites, and he Wan beatified in our own days by
Pius DC>

B’i-vjcl] Char tea of Sexze’s rase possesses an additional inierot
from the fact that, apart from St, Francis of As s isi, no reliable
example can be quoted of a male person who baa lud visible
stigmata in hands, feet ;iml ddc. Even in St. Francis we have no
evidence of periodic bleeding, though tilts feature b found in almost
alt the best attested instances of female aiigmatici from Elizabeth
of Her ken rode and Lukardis in the thirteenth century, to Domenka
Lazzari, Mine. Miotlis, touire Laiciui, Marie-Julie, Gemma
Galgam, and Maria della Prarione in our own day. There seems
in be fair evidence that a certain discaked Carmelite, Father Julian
of the Cross (t t6^}, had stigma tic marks, like round nail-head*,

1 The dtKumcmi ^itl be t’nunrl printn! a( JcrifiTth in G, 6. Mrfflffli, S J-, f ; J4
dilfo Suva di Di* .Wr Cu/rrmt I, Rome. 1733!, fp- l

* imbm-Gnurbeyrc, La St ip t ristti m, 1. pp.

70 THE PTTY5TCAL riZECTOUENA OF KVIHOOH

in hh frtt, but it is not stated that they ever bled. 1 blessed Charles
of Sefze, though he, like some other mole; ascetics, may love shared
internally the pair lb of Christ 1 * woumb, had no visible marks during
his lifetime. When we consider the extreme austerity of life and
ihc intense sympaihv wills the Paxsicn of Christ conspicuous in
such Saints ,\s Ht John of ihr Crnss, St, Prier of Alcantara, St.
Bcrnardmc of $icna r Su Philip Nrri. St. Paul of the Cron, St.
Leonard of Port Maurice, St, Alphaiisus Liguori, not to apeak of
all the Carthusian and Trappkl eotilcinpLi lives, dm pronounced
inequality between the sexes cannot but he regarded as a very
extraordinary facL Perhaps there is only one thing more remark¬
able in the strange phenomena of stigmatization, and that Is that
in all there numerous examples of open wounds, sonic of them
Jn[ceding continuously,, not a single ms lance seems yet to have been
pointed out in which the wound has suppurated

Sth; fit AT A VKD SaHi-TTTTV

Aa previously explained, it is not the purpose of ihc present
chapters to propound any theory regarding the origin or ttiper-
aatuTal character of the manifestations we are considering. My
principal aim u to give an idea of ihe physical phenomena for
which good evidence can be produced, and to leave thr interpreta¬
tion of the facts to dte judicious reader himself None the less,
while excluding, so far ;» may be, all data of doubtful authenticity,
it would be quite possible to convey a misleading impression
regarding the mystical quality uf those who nn the subject: of
these abnormal experiences. It is ufteu os important to ascertain
the ttkalt truth os io take precaution* that -lie iceonla upon which
our investigation is based contain the truth and nothing but ihe
truth. This, l fancy, is a point in which hagiugr&phcrs, aiming m
edification, are sometimes a Ihdr negligent,, but it ought not u., be
overlooked in the present inquiry'. Stigmatization ls a verv
w-mderiu! thing, and it is generally found associated with holiness
of an exalted kind, but it docs not teem in itself to constitute a
guarantee of sanctity. In this respect ii resembles telepathic
clairvoyance. Very often we find it recorded in Saints’ lives that.
Ihe iubj'-u of the biography possessed a knowledge of things
happening at a distance, or that he penetrated the secret thoughts

* tmbcrt'Gourixrree. /.d Utigimtu^im, I. p, 305*,

stigmata

of kb interlocutors. Indeed, inch facts are frequently adduced in
the process cf beatification as proof or heroic* virtue under the
hradiiis rharistnata at gratU gratis daU, None tile leu wc meet with
a grod deal of evidence that mch knowledge of distant events is
occasionally possessed under abnormal conditiom by persons in
whose lives religion plays a very small part, and who are equally
removed from the suspicion of diabolical influences- 1 It cannot be
too often repeated that the Church has set an example of extreme
caution in the interpretation of all such apparently supernatural
favours. In all the great work of Benedict XIV on the Beamfica¬
tion and Canonization of the Saints hardly more than a few
sentences are devoted to the question of stigmatization, though he
admits, of tourhe, that in some eases,, &*, for example, that of Sl
B randi of Assisi, it bears a supernatural character.

That «juic iiutancta of alleged stigmatisation are simply fraudu¬
lent is not tu be disputed. The two notorious religious imposters
pf die sixteenth century, Magdalena de la Grui and Maria dc b
Vlyui'i-jM, both professed to bear the marks of the Passion in
hand* , feet, and side- When sentenced by the Inquisition each
wrote imt a detailed Confession of hypocrisy and fraud, though in
view of the many similar confessions made hy reputed witches of
riding through the air on broomsticks, etc., this acknowledgment
of guilt cannot in itself be regarded as quite conclusive - In
relatively modern times there seem to have been quite & number
of Limilar pretenders, some of whom, it is stated, have been con¬
victed by the law courts of patent imposture- 1 I linve not found
It possible to obtain detailed Information regarding any of these
cases, though there appear* no reason to question the Justice of die
wtileiiceii passed by the ncigbtnties upon Ruse Tumbler in France

J Many taaea ;,r<- t tco nkd in I tv m, •:% Mm ffeonafifr; *e #,f. Vui i
pj> <i7SN70o The mo*l remarkable example*, however, ate ihi»t cf dasrumanae
in tin- hypn^Tif rrancr, such as are mentioned bv j W» MuUdudu M.L1-* in ha
Sirnimlirm «n 4 J^ptWn 'T.-j 11891), t»p, r u-43

1 1 Any perhaps be atfotoed to rdfer to the srlkl* + “ VV*lfhrraft " In the Calkdu
Enrnl^fvdin., Vol. XV, p. G77,

1 A cue of itmple fraud was detected in tgaG, when a Ctrnuti, Paul Dkkl,
cmv fe fark, prolcBit^ to be able in produce lean of blood and nkntila at
W Lit Be WBJ examinedby Dr, QiTy» who [Limed bark hia eyelid*, liiia Uadcnmg
tb*T ihr trmjunrtiva contained many imnU prirlo, evidently catued by a «toII
needle. Alter thk ciaOuvery the only Iran that ITurbd could weep were trxri
<tf nijfr The vigmota were produced by a daght^fhuvl. Dicbel kept hit leg*
[jfcwnJ closely ictftthrr. When be wu examined, it wu found that be bad
scsmJied the iflrdi rtf tmtidghd by p*e*iuir, suueeae uul ftlBkkat Wood

co enable a tdood-n%nia to be placed on hk hand when the watcher wu n&i
itLquIittg 'o tii mm'envetiti. The ,iitur w H n reported by the Xfa&tktMtr Go? Jura
of 31 October icpfl J.H.C-

72 the pinrSiCAi Pt£E>;oi 3 x_sA of ii vmctiy

and upon Teresa StacJda in Switzerland, both pretended )Ugmatio (
in the course of the last century. A somewhat more doubtful
example of the same kind is mentioned by Drbreyne, It was the
ease of a girl of eigtiieen subject to frequent hysterical attacks, who
in 1840 was a patient in a religious institution in Normandy,
According to the detailed account written by the chaplain, this
girl, when in 1 state of trance, received, or pretended to receive,
lumps of sugar and other dainties from some mysterious source.
S he sugar undoubtedly was there, but where it came from nobody
could Find out. 11 icy repeatedly searched her and everything
belonging to her, but discovered notJiing. The sugar never
became visible until it was quite close to her hands (0a w If wjmt
qw brsqtt' ii eimt trh pds tks maim), and she declared that it came
.from heaven and was given her by our Rtciicd Lady, nr by the
Infant Jesus, or by St. John the Baptist. Thinking she might have
some confederate in the institution in which she was detained, they
removed her to another house* but the phenomena did not cease.
On the contrary, under the new conditions the sugar appeared
more frequently than before, and she is said to have received it as
often os twenty tim™ in an hour. The girl alio professed to be
marked with the stigmata, not in the hands, but in the breast and
in die feel. A trickle of blood came from the wound's every Friday.

In cider to make suit [wyi the account from which I quote]
that the bad not made the wounds herself and had done nothing
to Knopen diem, the foot was tightly bandaged* the bandage being
sewn up in such a way that she could not have removed it with*
mu betraying the fact Further, an unconsecrated host was placed
under the bandage 10 prevent her slabbing thr wound Undetected
by means of a pin or needle, but on the Friday evening It was
round that blood bad Bowed from die wound, that the bandage
had not been moved or interfered with* and that the host was quite
intact just as it had Seen placed there.

Thb girl [die chaplain goes on] is not a Saint, she appears to be
half-witted, but of that I have my doubts. There is reason to
tlnuk her both spiteful and sly. 1

Ohvioii-ly in dii. case everything point) to imposture, and the
precautions adopted to detect it were probably quite inadequate,
fiui there ate many instances of stigmatization where imposture is

■PTC Dtbrqre*. Ewa jv Lx Tlfefrrir Mardi [Tjiii, 1S+1 tad 3 F*i:. \
9P- 4 ^

STIGMATA

GUI of the question but in which many of the details recorded are
suggestive rather of disease than of that showing forth of the divine
.-mributei which we associate with tire idea of a miracle, 1 have
already more than once referred to Dtemruica Lazsmri,, the ** Addo-
loraia** of Capriana in the Tyrol. Xo case is better atloted-
The witnesses were men of liigh position, quite indqrcndem of
cadi other, and their reports, which arc in absolute accord regard¬
ing the main features r>!' die c aic T cover a period of more than ten
years. Still, the medical history oi Domrniea is a very curious one.
As a cliild site wa* a good girl who worked hard and Loved to pray
and read books of devotion, but she 11 exhibited no marks of extra¬
ordinary fervour, nor anything to distinguish her as different from
what any good and pious girl ought to be." She Heard Mass daily,
attended all the services of the church and " communicated a I
least once a month." 1 At the age of 13, shortly after her father's
death, 1 when -the h stated in have wept almost continuoudy for
four days and lour nights and to have eaten next to nothing during
the vime time, she had a very serious illness, which Dr. Dei Cloche,
from the account given to him at a later dale, believed to be
hysteria marked by violent convulsion*- It should be remembered
dial tidi doctor writes os a devout CntlioLk and was apparently in
entire sympathy with his pattern, treating ofhtr stigmata in minute
detail. On June ;jj, 1833, at die age of eighteen, die had a very
severe fright which led to her spending the night aSnne in 3 mill,
a prey to abject terror. Nine days later she was seized with a sort
of cataleptic attack in tfic fields, and from that time forward site
seems hardly to have left her bed until her death in iR.jB, Dr.
Dei Cloche was railed to the ease in April 1834, after another
doctor had treated the patient for Mime month* without any
Isentficial result, He gives a description of licr extraordinary
aversion for food and of the strange hypersathniia which manifested
itself in alt her senses. She could nut endure anything but the
most subdued light. The slightest pressure upfm die abdomen
caused her intense pain. When she consented reluctantly at Ids
requer i to allow a small fragment of sugar to be placed upon her
tofirruc, she at esnue haul .in muck which Listed for twenty minutes,
in the course of which the fit of vomiting was so violent that she
almost choked. Already for some weeks she had taken next to no

1 F. NkeU*, L'^iucfjv* r 1 Its Sii past ill*s hi 7/yf PP t30-t mnd 14R-9,

anil ci KkciirJ;, fifj, v:jt tUt ;.m frr.-.rr Jvnfjfeuni, .tfcn'ii Mu! mJ DvwmitQ
/.AJr.TT! 1 Augsburg. 11X4.3, PP- b 3 -™g.

* Hftblhcf liictlin February iRiiS. tirr itinfa hrgaji m. March trf ihr ilcnt Vfiaf-

74 HIE PHYSICAL FHENOtfEtfA Of WY 3 T 1 C 1 SM

nourishment at all* and from the toth of April* 1834, until tier
death it seems shat she ndlher ate nor drank. Dr. Dd Cloche
induced her to smell some toast, but this also caused her extreme
discomfort. She pressed a handkerchief to her nostrils, suffered
can tertian of all the muscles of her Thcr, and for a short time
fainted away. When a tumbler wa> struck with a key, abe uttered
a loud ltv and stopped her ear*, declaring that thr noise stunned
her {ms ha iittettsmi.-i Its testa}* A light object resting upon the
stomach was enough to set her sobbing and to produce convulsions
in the whole body, while she aha complained of agonizing pain.
Dr, lid, Cjoeite visited her once mote in six months* time, and
reports dial at that date—

t nhr could endure neither light, nor scents, nor noUe, without
breaking out into groans, *olw and convulsive muvemcnLHi, She
ctmkl tic 1 articulate a tingle word without extreme difficulty, and
then only in a flout voice, She reluctantly allowed a few intimate}
nriir her Irtd, but if anyone cut of mere curiosity drew close to her
without precautions find against her wishes, her trembling grew
more vinlent and her pain became more acute- She took no
nourishment of any kind . . . but though Iter expression was
dejected her limbs were not emaciated. 1

In January 1837 it was reported that wonderful supernatural
phenomena (it., the stigmata] were manifesting themselves in
Domcnica* and Dr. Dei Cloche, who was now head of .in important
hcupital in the city of Trent, w.u led to pay her another visit early
in the May of that vextr. From a medical point of view he found
her still in much the same condition* and extraordinary sensitive
to any form of sense Impression** Even the slight Contact involved
in feeling bci pulse made her tremble all over and break am into
groans, Night and day. not excepting the bitterest winter weather,
when die thermometer tuood at —13 degrees Reaumur (i.*,. 29
degrees of frost Eahreiiheitj, she lay with the window'wide open,
and ifi summer she only found relief from the heat in being eon-

1 I ‘/u.-rfwJt di \tsl;-r-ia : (837), VyJ- 84, pje *53-4. Lftltrr ari* itl 18};.

Dmrre-rurji asiiircd IVi Ckwlw tut on« May s, i%4 T " ’he hud needier ilqpc,
not chunk a drop of water, HOT r.Lnjinwrd 0 oumb aif IscBd." \lfrid. p.

So far a« 1 tun jurJ^r, lILic doctor doe* noi 'vcrn to havn dubcUeved Ilct naionrinr

1 Wlut wat niM edBftfttlitf her of imrm| k tjuitt jf

WlU hdirve-J i!mi ib« could lesr wlml tor pariah nncn said in iiii irmtom
delivered lei ihe chureK *no nr j>jo vaidi iway. Nkolai, j jj r

Cr" ahn Mr AThra a it.wv *f ‘_-r <Jrrrrhririn^ a m-mfk rnade m i low totw: Uq
yard* nw*v fKmi ihe boiw. Jcumsf cn etc.* j> i^r.

sTit;vi

fi Dually firmed, 1 On the Friday morning, when the anguish of
the stigmata was beginning, Do Cloche on approaching the house
declared that

more than a hundred paces away I could hear piercing cries which
came From the window of her Wim leaking out upon the roach
and as 1 drew near I could distinguish the words* repeated again
and again, u O God come to my assistance*” At leu o'clock the
unfortunate sufferer was still repeating the inme invocation in
vibrant (ones. Now and again she returned laconic answers to
quotient; oddresaed to her, but at once resumed her distressing
ejaculation. ... At four o'clock in the afternoon, though the
blood had then erased to flow from the stigmata, she continued to
utter her piteous crY with unabated energy. When asked why she
never stopped this clamour, " It is/' she answered, “ became I *
never cease feeling intense pain all over my body and pafrirulnrly
in the places of the wounds, and i find relief in crying as I do/' 4

Of the stigmata I have already spoken in a previous chapter.

I will only add that Domcnica’s fare was usually covered with a
mask of blood which find trickled on Fridays from the circlet of
punctures representing the crown, of thorns* Lord Shrewsbury, in
bis published account of the Addolorata, tells m, mi the authority
nf a German physician who in *841 was studying the case, that
** the filer b never washed, she not being able to bear the use of
water cither hot o? cold/ 11 though the blood gradually disappears
of itself We may also learn from the same authority that J+ there
was a strong smell of coagulated blood in the room/ 1 At half-past
three mi ihe Friday afternoon “the blood was still oozing per¬
ceptibly from the wounds in the back of her hands/ 1 and Lord
Shrewsbury' add*;

Her fingers were so firmly clasped (hat, lo judge from appear¬
ances, she had not the power to loose them; but on the clergyman
who accompanied us asking her id let us see the inside nf the
hands, she immediately opened them from underneath, without
uncLuping her fingers, as a shell open* upon lit hinges, so that
we distinctly saw the wounds, and the blood and serum, quite fresh
imd flowing down over die wrist

1 Similar mmilool nT mlntif hc*t in e^nnciion wish tlic are reported

m iltc Uft vfiJu IVr, Cf.':dB.au Mon'd $i&msw r jv 5 Wl|

* .-iqw/i, cic. ( p. 361 .

1 "I’hU hypc-TEiihciLi quite acowdi IJiWi l*f 4ifffcully Dd Code (bund in
»n pmuadEng Dmiviiiti 1 o allow him even «s ft .E her jjulfr.

7& THE PHYSICAL FlIENOVTENA, OF UV5TTC ISM

The same writer was also permiued to see the feet, and noticed
that " instead of taking its natural course, the blood flowed up¬
wards over the toes, as it would do were she suspended on the crow."
i ran not, however, help thinking that this appearance may be
sufficiently accounted for without any miracle, by tlit fact, carc-
fulh Noted by Dd C'h tie, that in the acute stage of tlm iiigni Mi na¬
tion agony 44 the Sole of the foot took a position nearly horizontal
with her tegs,*' 1 At the hour wIieii the feet were shown to Lard
Shrews bury and other visitors the rigidity of tins attitude bad
probably somewhat relaxed. StllJ T am not sure how far this point
ought tu be pressed, for Mr. T. W* Allies, in Ilia minute description
of what he saw Its 1847 (he was then still an Anglican), Insists
much that the course followed by the blood flowing from die
•forehead and from die hand* was not that which it would naturally
take in Domenicos recumbent posture,*

Dr, Dei Cloche 1 '® medical study of the case wm printed ten yean
before the visit of Mr, Allies. When the last-named observer and
hb friend* made Eh dr pilgrimage to Cuprbma, DoUtcnicn wars
within Mae months of her death, and her physical vigour was
apparently much less than it had been in 1837. At the earlier
period she was shaken for hours together with convulsive move¬
ments which idTccictl every' pan of her frame and which culminated
In a prostration so complete that, as Dei Cloche says, you might
have taken her for death personified." Amid these convulsions,
as the same medical observer notes,

Dnmenica with her tightly clasped, hands often showered blows
upon hrr breast with interne violence* *0 that the noise was post
belief. On one occasion amongst the rest she struck her chin

’ Thh tecic eotuliilon of the mtudn mu it. it Hccm ns me, inrviukly h^w

riiml lisff LTJlep, .ltj:J iIle- i.' nii 1 r of lhe tvtiur.J vt.nl in the iratrp.

1 Tbii u not tire opmiim oJ Mr. Atlio alolir. The tour wu mjujc Ln company
with tiftKj Qx&ni friend*,. J. H. tVJJen and J. IL Wynne, All three were
Tractorimi *mi eventually Iwcsnu Culjciiicu In Mr. AtHrs' Jamal ~ Fr^t
(London, tkip? arc printed Irtten written at the time to different cnntspoqdaiti
by each of the three (pp. u 7-391. Like many other Coihnlki on the wrapf
■tde of uily, I happen to ha>T known each of thde writers Knuojdtf, ind m me
the Tala pben in ihere itraitfh Hfiorvvird arcmmti are BMoliltrly tfexsaive as
ca&iiifiiflg ih~ cKnaaihdnv of Cnuid in DoEnmiea w her emeunuje. For mmple,
Mr. .[■ H. Prilb reconU i» the authority of the local doctor, tLamn) Vorb,
whom they met dure on gtir July, 1847 (Mr. Pdim'i letter wa* written two
days after) : “ The doctor tutd ui ne hiti seen her feel a hundred timet, which
ate marker! like ihr ha mil, but the blood tutu tip lowanil the toe*, is si dnet up
the nose 1 hr. , tu the tip, when the w*l lying in bed), at we mw. Her tule-wsmnd
hi* been teen by mnal wnmni, her litter muusg olhen, whom we talked much
to.” Allies, Jotnrwl, p. 15$.

mOUATA

with to much force that her gums were badly nut and her mouth
was filled with blood. . , . The gnadiiug of her teeth was con¬
tinuous, and so loud that it might be compared to the noise of
a furious and hungry dog gnawing a bone, or to die grinding
of an enormous file applied b\ vigorous arms to a great bar
of iron,

Dei Cloche goes on to tell us that, a* he learned on good
authority, in the convulsive attacks of i8gfr, from June 24th to
Judy and* die noise of the blows which Domenba gave herself
could be heard not only throughout the house hut also in the road
distant four perches from the building* Someone who had taken
the trouble to count them declared that there were as many M
409 in a single hour. It t* impossible not to be reminded of th^
exactly similar belmviour of Elizabeth of Herkourode* of which
dft itjk were given in an earlier chapter, but the question inevi¬
tably arises: In do a disease:, or are these the strange ways in which
the roul Is led on to higher union with God ?

However extraordinary the phenomena which attended Dom-
cnita I-azzari's fourteen years of martyrdom there bus never, so Car
.15 I can ascertain, been any question of introducing die cause of
her beatification. She does not seem to have Impressed dtfier
visitors or intimates with any seme of exceptional holiness. Her
shter who looked after her, so Mr. Pollen wrote* “ was perfectly
simple* wanted no money* and treated Domenica more as an
invalid than anything else/ 11 Mr. Wynne (afterward* Father
Wynne, S.J.), the third member of Mr. Allies’ party, wrote, two
day* after, to a correspondent as follows:

W e have been very much impressed* and what to me makes it
more peculiar is that m former eases in which the stigmata We
been granted* they appeared ... as the seal of consummate sanctity*
or the reward of intense meditation on the Passkui, whereas in the
present instance iherc is nothing to lead one to suppose either the
one or the ocher in any extraordinary degree- The impression
conveyed tome .. . was more one orgreat suffering ami resignation
than of any extraordinary tokens of grace. There i*> 1 lake it* no
mttuerp connect inn lietween the extraordinary phenomena which
brr body bears arid extreme sanctity, though one might expect iu
Her life has always been extremely virtuous and pious . . . but
nothing that I saw led me to suppose the lofty religious abstraction*

1 Attin, in fia***, p, i^G.

70 TUB PUVSIlAL M3T-NOMXNA OF UYSTlCiiiM

the spiritual fervour, or superhuman .truing of [he soul for God,
w filch one looks for in the fenude Saint.*

Bui this in some sense only adds to the mystery- Sabatier,
Georges Dumas* Dr* Merkt and others admit die physical reality
or the stigmata,, but explain them as, the resnft of intense concentra¬
tion of thought upon the wounds of our Saviour. But here
apparently we have the phenomena withn ut. any such, concentration.
It teems, at any rale, certain From the concurrent testimony of
many wit nerves (hut in Domenica 1 ! cave there was no proper
ecstasy or trance, lliuugh I doubt if this can be said of any other
stigma tie Whose life is fully known to its. 1

Not Ik* perplexing, though Tor differ ent reasons, ts the case of
' jtajTcIli, of OriiS, near Brindisi, who was bom in 1835
*tnd died in 1BB8. Here the gixx) faith of the subject uf the pheno*
mens is gravely in doubt, and it is open to the critic to uuggesL that
the wonders recorded of her, if real, are due to diabolical ngeucv.
Perhaps I cannot supply a better account of Palma in short space
than by iramluting the few sentences in which Dr. fmbcrt-Gour-
heyrt. in contrast to [he boo pages devoted to her in lu* earlier
w *k, arnm up the chief features of her case for the renders of Im
Stigmatisation, Palma was bom in the little town of Oria, in which
she Also died. She was a girl uf the peasant class who never
learned to read or write, She married, had throe daughters, who
all died young, aud then In 1853, at the age of lwemy*cight. Found
hersdtr a widow.

Sihe scerru Dr, Gouriwyre continues] to have bad exirarndindiiy
graces from early youth- ft was on May 3rd, 1857, that she first
received the stigmata. These somewhat later became apparent
externally, but only to disappear again in 1865, with the exception
of the wound in the side, w hich still remained at the time of my
journey to L>ria. Of the four stigma ties I have personally known*
Palma 1 ! cave is that in which I have witnessed the most extrm-
wdinary mjiiiiltt talcum during the few I spent in her vicinity

1 AW. p. 14O.

4 In the «ae of Beatricr ifOmttkav a Cwdumtn ium, wIjq died an i«h
February* igo^ unJ wImk tuhtu wu ccmfirtiKjl la *06^, it u rtUinl iluu ie
pi erred her tmm hanrli lq order to imitate the lulTitiu^ of Qiriu: *" Ut TUim
Jiuiuiinem aiiquu nuxlo in trip** f tfe m l tt vulnemn Ena particcpi fati, btuIO
<lavw mum conJbdit* aw ptagh ckiiHce* utxJutcTcnmr, prpturm die

fertn tecta, Ml itifixf) fi rm rmovabal." In .inier to be»r iviil, hrr Hu inut;e
“I’d hi there liii tttmndi, ihe jjicrrcd her hziuli with * diurp nail, acid 1 $ rjmrrnt
Ihfl wound* rlcmnfl. the med oaj the I-riday *>f tacb week 10 renrw ij.-rn with
itte *amr mjtrummt. See fait PmtijKiL 1 l 3 Sfi r II. pp„ au

in [©71. I have twice seen lief on fire inside her clothes, 1
ascertaining afterward* that them were real bums in her fleih
similar to those caused by a boding liquid. I have also wen the
linen cloths bid upon ho- heart 1 luring tht* conflagration (bcewfif)
marked widt extraordinary patterns when they were removed. I
have furtha rjeen the blood trickle from the circlet of punctures
upon her forehead, and as it was caught in the handkerchief I held
under it I watched it trace out patterns like those of the t+ con¬
flagration." I have reproduced these patterns in my r book Us
Stiipnaiufrs, and to this I refer the reader. They also showed me
at Oria beakers full of a liquid that had come from Palmah mouth,
and in which solid bodies had formed which looked like hosts, I
still keep a. flask full of tills specie* of halm, and to my gnat
astonishment it has never pu lofted* 1 f

Dr. Imlien-Gourhcryrc then add* a few words concerning the
death of Pnlma 1 which took place in March iflBS. He had been
informed that she received the Inst Sacrumejits .1 few days Wore
her death* that crowds of people flocked to Oria to do her honour,
and that her body remained flexible and without .sign of putrefac¬
tion until she was bid in die tomb. Dr* Gourbcyic is noU of course,
the only witness who vouches for such marvels as those recorded
above. A pilgrim who visited Oria in April til;;! wrote to (the
Abhd Curiequr

P alma no longer has the stigmata regularly. During this lust
Lent they reappeared, but then the stigmatizalion* so fir us any
discharge or blood i* concern r*d, rainc to an end. Still it recurs
at nmr. for tile take of her visitors fettr rtvitffl pour ft srhm m lisittuft )*
During our first two visits to tier her forehead was without any
murk, then, after her thanksgiving, my companion* and myself saw
four trickles of blood, as broad as erne's little Imgcr, ao/.mg from
four puncture* in the middle of the forehead, which wetted her
face and hands. A white cloth was given her to wipe It off, and
this wiping left upon the linen not simple blood mains* Ijui emblems
1 clearly outlined, representing inflamed hcam, nails and swords.
This is truly a marvel and [ saw it with my own eyw.*

Other witnesses testified to the marks of the wounds in her
hands, and especially to the fact that cloths pressed against her

1 " Jc I'ai vue foniler ttru* fcA c!juu aa chcmiRe. 1 '

1 Imbcn-Gourb^yrr, 4<x tSftprariraiiww, I., p. sfo,

1 CkirirtjtiC, I'etr PtofMiiipMt, 51 h Edit,, H., p, 4.15.

So TUE FKYJlCAl, FHEJfQWE^A OF MYTTTOSV

breast were burnt away in many plutes so as to leave dearly
defined patterns* representing hcartSj flames^ and other pious
symbols, But not die least astonishing of the marvels recorded of
Palma were her mi random Communions, often twice or three times
in rhe day. and at all sorts, of hours, Aa it is asserted that die
never took solid loot!, and but little liquid, the was nearly always
(kiting. In his Stigrrteiisies Dr. Imbeft-Ccmrbeyrc describe? one
inch Communion which took place in his presence:

At this moment i w;n conversing directly with Canon dc Angelin
on the subject of biJocudon. J was sitting sideways to Palma
talking to the Canon who was ojijscKUtc me when I felt her hand
gently tap me cm ibe forearm. At the same instant the Canon felt
|ipOn his knees* I turned to look at Palma, and l saw her eyes
shut, her bands joined, her mouth wide open, and on her tongue
I perceived a host- 1 kneel down at once, I adore and l watch
her. Pabnii puts out her tongue still further as If rdie was (jent on
making me see the host dearly, then she swallows it. shuts her
mouth and remains profoundly recollected in her chair. U might
at this moment have l>ern about half-past four* The <lay was
closing in, the oratory was badly lit by a small window very high
up. The miraculous host appeared to me as white as wax and
rather thick.*

These drcumsianrjci apparently awakened no suspicion in the
good doctor's mind, though die conditions were ideal for a sleigh i-
ofdi.md deception. But this was not alt. Palm a, having received
Uui miraculous Communion, uaagr prcicdbed that for a short space
she ..h.jiild be left alone in the oratory to make her thanksgiving*
Soon she summon* them hack and they find blood trickling from
her forehead. The stigmata have appeared once more in their
absence* The ricxi day Palma has loti conversation with Dr.
Gourbeyre about her miraculous Communions, She explain) that
the Host U brought to her by our Lord, or by one of the Saintj,
who pemaiit* Invisible but who b&» taken the consecrated particle
from some tabernacle, sometime^ fmrn Sr. Peter’s at Rome, or
even from church™ as far off a* Milan. She also receives Com-
munion in the ordinary way every morning at Mass, but our Lord
bestows this special privilege on account of die needs of her soul.

1 in List confess that the detaiU of thh and other ctmversatinrtA with
Palma which Dr. Gcmrbcyn; records with the utmost simplicity
i £jj Sri£.~Ls:i;tfi, VoL II. p* 15

mtlMATA

pm-ducc upon me a very UO&vcurable impression, hut it is iat*
iambic io enlarge upon this thane. I will OOntOli myself with
calling attention to certain ernnmcrtts on Palma* reprinted in 189a
in 1 lie fifth volume of the GEurrrs Computes of Mgr. Barbier de
Muniauli. In an article printed in 1877, before the death of
Pim IX r M?’r. Ikii bicr recall* a * Olivers#tion with His Holiness, in
tiie Course of wlrieh the Pontiff ioidj

Since you write in the Press say out loud, and say it many times
over* that the Pope condemns all these visionaries with revelations,
Palma* Canuamillc, and those others who mislead and deceive the
faithful. It is all the work of the devil, I have documents to
prove it.

In 1879 the Jesuit F&e Pouplnrd, in tile French Mtssagtr At *
S. Cjut dc J£ws t described how he had tried to learn what was
thought 311 Rome of a certain 11 vovaiitc ,l who lived in the South
of Italy and who was supposed to be favoured with the most
extraordinary manifestations. In answer* the very eminent and
respected Roman theologian whom he consulted replied that he
believed the whole thing to be only a snare of the devil. Quoting
this passage in full* Mgr, Barhicr de \ toman It dots the I’l hy
declaring that the question undoubtedly rdmdl to Palma d'Orbt*
Thereupon he profess to cite die very grave words ■.jwken by
Pius IX in hiin«'ll in a ^iedal private audience which took place
in 1873*

I have had an investigation made concerning Palma [the Pope
told him;. In consequence of the report which was then drawn
up I have left the matter hi the han d* of the Holy Office, and die
Holy Office has pronounced that the whole business ii diabolic.
The Holy Office is pledged U> secrecy, but I am not pledged.
Tale good heed, then, of what I tell you. What Palma is doing
Is the work pf the devil* and her pretended miraculous Communion*
with hosts taken from Si. Peter's are a pure piece of trickery. It
in all imposture, and 1 have the proofs there in the drawer of my
bureau. She has befooled a whole crowd of pious and credulous
souls. One of your feflovr-cuuntryrnen has written it book about
her which has been delated to the Holy Office, Out of co udders-
thm for the author* who is a good Catholic and whose intention*
are excellent, the Holy Office derided oot to condemn him publicly,
but has begged him to withdraw the book from rinruLidon to

THT. PfftaiCAL l a jI£,NUM£KA OF UYfltUm

pnrvtnl my nw detunehtion which might I cud to its brine
formally censured. 1

There can be m> doubt that the book referred to was the :^onr!
volume of Dr r Imbcrt-Gtuirbeyrifs &J Stigmatises, In pouu of
fact this l«x>k was not reprinted after 1873, and in the new werk,
La Sligmaiisaiion t which replaced it in 1894, comparatively til tie i%
said orPalnm d'Oria, in particular a complete silence I* maintained
with regard to her supposed miraculous Qomm unimuL

It must be confessed that there is a good deal of evidence, even
chi the surface, which confirms the unfavourable estimate of Palma
formed by Phts IX. Her patronizing tone in speaking of Louise
Latemt, her obvious fishing for information regarding Louise and
oilier stigma Lies, her prophecy that Napoleon Hi would return to
France and sufier a violent death nil French soil, her supposed
miraculous Communions two or three times in the same day, the
telepathic communications alleged to exist between her and that
very unsatisfactory person Minnie Mathieu, the little shepherdess
of La Salette, her thinly veiled desire to make a. display of the
supernatural favour? accorded to her, all these things are in conflict
with the self-effacement characteristic of true sanctity. On the
other hand, if her mmufatations were diabolical in origin, «m r
would have expected Satan to produce something less crude than
the childish patterns of tlnmes, hearts, etc., reproduced it] Lis
Stigmatise 1. Ftirthrmiore, there is evidence that Palma sometimes
influenced souls for good. For example, a friend writes to me:

There w.ts „v married woman, a cousin of mine, living a very
frivolous and worldly life in Pans. She went to see Palma as a
new cxdtrmrnv not with a vriotti purpose. P:dma knew all about
her and had a message for her from our Lord. She was to return
to Faria and seek a cerium Father, whose name I forget, and make
a general confession in preparation for death, fur she was not to
Live long. While with Palma, my cm tun saw the Sacred Host
come miraculously and enter P alma ** mouth. Overwhelmed with
astonishment and fear, she was at once converted. Returning to
Paris she did as Palma bad desired and lived a most holy life for a
few weeks.or months, and then dt«S a very edifying death. She
was about thirty years of age, All tliis happened about fifty years
ago.

[ repeat this statement its I received it, only adding that I am

* tUihiti tk MfflUltull, fJjnr/l C«vfJiUi t VoL V. ftp.

StIUVIATA

fully a-HufV'l of the good Ehth o\ the writer, who hiia been known
Id me personally and by repute for more than thirty' yean.

A SnestAtTZAnoN Iscpcmtuke ?

In an article on " Impostors ff which I contributed to the
Cttihoh V KntjtflupanNa I liad occasion 10 make reference la the
SpHirikti nun, Magdatem de U Ciw., who was sentenced by the
Inquisition in 154b for her alleged hypocritical pretence of sanctity
supported by counterfeit stigmata and other phenomena, Mag*
dalcrm's story is a vary curious one. She was a girl of humble *
origin who was received into a Franciscan convent at Cordova in
1504 ui the age of seventeen. Her ccstarics, pciiiieuTiaE praciices,
miraculous communions and alleged abstention from food, attracted
attention both within and without her own community, She was
believed to have the stigmata and to bo raised from the ground in
prayer. She w as elected prioress in 1535 when die was forty -six
years old, and re-elected tn the same office in 153S and 1539. So
universal was the veneration tn which she wav held that ladles of
lire highfst rank, when about to lie confined. sent ta her the cradles
or garments prepared for dir expected infant that she might bless
them. Thi s homage was paid her even by tile Empress Isabel tn
1 527 before the birth of Philip 1 T There were, however, those who
regarded the nun with distrust, and ht. I gnu Lius Loyola tn parti¬
cular lent her no countenance. Failing dangcrouily 111 in 1543, it
h alleged that Magdalena confessed to a long career of hypocrisy,
anti after a trial lasting nearly two years the inquisition sentenced
her to lifelong confinement in the convent of anof icr Order where
she was subject to many penalties including deprivation for a time
of Holy Communion, It sennv certain, however, that slit accepted
her lot with complete submission and in a spirit of the must edifying
piny. She regained the respect of those who lived with her and
is said to have died a very holy death,

Similar to this in many aspects, and causing probably an even
greater sensation, was die case of Uie Dominican oiui, Sor Maria
tie la V atr aetmt- Unlike Magdalena she belonged to a dis¬
tinguished famil y, though fche was a Portuguese, not a Spaniard.
At die age of twelve she entered the convent of the Annunciation
in Lisbon and made her profession there in when she was

8+ TUB PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF MY3TICIXM

seventeen. Through i: hr reputation she icq uirad for virtue and
intelligence. bus. p^csiblv helped by Family influence, she, though
still a very young nun, was elected prioress in 15^. and from that
time forward begun n> hr famous, ]i h much to he regretlcd that
die Lilt which dir celebrated Dominican, Father Luis dc Granada,
ia 1 iid to have written of her and which still exists in. manuscript,
seems never to have been published. Apart from a few casual
notices,, almost all that we hear of Sor Maria de la Visitation
belongs to the period subsequent to Iter downfall and loss of credit.
One would very much like to know the impression she made upon
her fellow-religion* during the fifteen yean or more which the
spent at the convent of the Annunciation before she heeamy
Superior# Thera can be no question that at the time preparations
* were being made for the mustering or the great Armada which was
to conquer England, Sor Maria was a very influential personage.

The reputation which then attached to the name of the nun of
Lisbon is convincingly attested in the reports which Lippomano,
tire Venetian Ambassador in Spain, dUp-.uched to the Doge and
Senate in 13R7 ami 1588, The Spaniards in 1587 were suffering
from the attacks made by Drake upon the ga!Irons returning from
the Indie*. Hie naval command, under the direction of the
Marquis of Santa Crus, wm able to do very little to counter dui
me Trace* and on July 1567 Xipjxmumo reports:

The Marquis will go la the Azores but little good is expected
from lib presence beyond securing the fleet from New’ Spain,
though they say thw Ire visited the holy nun of Lisbon, and that
she bade him go with a good heart, taking with him the cross and
promised him victory 111 all his action*.

In February of the next year lappomano thinks it worth while
10 insert la his official dispatch the following item of gossip:

Evil person* having spread rumour that the stigma La of the
holy nun are spurious, the General of her Order has made a new
examination, with many tesu, mu! sent thr result to His Majesty
They find that lieyoud all doubt ihc stigmata ore genuine arid
miraculous. Fra Luigi di Granada has written a book describing
her divine operations.

After d Cj 1 ruction had fallen upon the Arm a da, wr have a letter
from UppomoiMi 10 tin Doge on DeccmSrer 14, t$m. It is written

STIOUATA B5

In a very different seme, and, Mr. Brown suinmarUes the oantenui
as fallows:

The Nun of Portugal whit was univciiaQy hdd fur a ^iini lias
been found out at last. The stigmata are proved to lie artificial
ami the whole trick invented to gain credit in the world. SI sc was
Indnerd to act thus by two friars of Iter Order ofSti Dominic* with a
view to being able some day to idl the King that unless he handed
Fbftugal over to Don Antonio he would he dtunned for ever, and
with the further object of raising a rebellion agidnss the King, L lie
friars are in the prisons of the Inquisition, the nun in a convent
awaiting sentence.

There can be no doubt that Sor Maria’s declared sympathy for t
the party winch advocated the independence of Portugal from
Spanish rule must !uwe prejudiced her enure. If die had enter'
taiueJ such views before, she had dissimulated them* but in (he
depression and political agitation which settled down upon the
peninsula after die great naval disaster die seems to have spoken
more freely. No doubt this consideration urns not forgotten by the
Inquisitors; but in the sentence they pronounced no reference ii
made to political milters. The verdict was summarized by
lappomaiio thus;

First she h condemned to perpetual prison in a convent not of her
own Order outride the city.

She may not receive the sacraments for five yrat*. except on the
three Easters [hr Pujqiu] 1 or itt artituh mortis, or in .1 papa] jubilee.

Every Wednesday and Friday In public in the tumT chapter
house, the ihril receiver the discipline for as long as It takes to chant
the Miiertrt.

She shall eat tn the refectory in public on tins ground, and no one
may eat what she leaves. She shall lie on ihc ground at the door of
the refectory, and all the mm* shall walk over her as they come
in and go out.

She shall fast perpetually; she may not be elected to any office,
but flhatt take rank below the meanest nun m the convent,

1 AJlhriUgh Mr Hnfflli* Rm^rt eJitft! the VenctLan t litruslais many yrAn*
he ni not ajvvmya quite ■■ turmr in Catholic p&ratetiiqflY, The wwd
WM nisi for Any a&c d die dure jprsJL feists* Euict, Wiih-Simdoy inf CldltlQH.
St. fsiehai Sayfon, for example* wh cniled “ PaKlml" because be yea* ixrmra
WTiii'SiBfcip. Mafii was, (hatfOK, id *HV case affowed to receive Cqmmuuicm
three timn » >rie.

66 the PirvnrAt ftiehdueka or HVSTrcfTM

She may noi speak to any of the mini or to anywise die without
leave of the prbretl.

The bread she uses, the drinking cupi and all else shall be given
to Lhe Inquisition or b delegate*

Sht a1ia.ll not wear A veil- On Wednesdays and Frida t s dvr
shall have nothin n but bread and water*

Each time die Leaves her cell to eat she shall recite lire sin aloud.

In forwarding this summary, IJppomano not only makes refer¬
ence to the foci that die mm bad been previously held for a saint,
but tclla the Doge that she had received several letters in King
Philip IPs own land, one of them commending }m action 10 her
prayers, and declaring that he desired to come to Portugal to visit
f her and kisj her hand,'* 1

The exposiur* and condennation of Sor Marta dc h Visitation
not unnaturally had their repercussions* We may, in the first
pUee T attribute 10 this com* the death of Father Luis dc Granada
himself. He had been Provincial of Lite Dominicans in Portugal
and also a notable professor of theology,* As a spiritual writer he
was famous beyond any man of that generation, Hu books were
printed in numberless editions and reproduced hi many languages.
Even in Elizabethan England they were highly popular, and not
only Catholics, Hut Protestants also, had busied thmmc Ives with the
task of translating or adapting them.* Sm Maria professed to be
under his direction. He undoubtedly knew her well, used to hear
her cunlhmqn and required her to show him her stigmata. It
leans to be beyond question that be made himself guarantee of her
good faidi b\ writing not only to Pope Gregory 1 Kill, but to King
Philip It, to Bfc&ed Jobn dr Ribera, wtio ypu Archbishop of
Valencia, and to many oihcn. Himself recognized on all hands
- master of the spiritual life, he was satisfied that bis jKtiitcnt in
Lisbon was one of dir holiest of God’s servants* There ij no
suggestion that, when the sentence passed by die Inquiiittftn wi§
made public, Luis do Granada fell under any suspicion of con*
nivance in a fraud. He w.is himself a Spaniard, and in any cuse
kept aloof from politics* There may, however, have iiceu other
mcnahers of the Order, os stilted in LippomaitcA dispatch quoted

1 Ser Cil.'rjJJI ij -Vj- Vrmc* t aiilol hf Honoi.j F, flrov.Tt, Vol Vlir

ns. sy», 615, t*h. 755*

1 He Es mlsu laid i» have refuted dv CudlmUi^ « tvdl M two bbhopriev-

1 Srr nfi ail chi* Maria Hagrdom* fUforntitui &si Sfwiis:kr fr ff-fehrjftJ

1*934 f* Thr Mmlh t I-cbfUAry, 19 ^ f^s

SriGMATA

above „ who were tess discreet and who were ardent m the cause of
Portuguese i n depeiidence,

What is certain is dial Fray Luis in 1588 was a very old man—
he was bom in 1504—and that die shriek of this condemnation of
die stigmaliva for whose tinccrily he had pledged his word must
h.ivr been a very atriom one AH that Wc know is that the sentence
qf the IivquLrition was delivered <m Dccetnlicr 8th and that Fray
Luis died before the dose of [he same month. Pi« Moriier suggest*
that iJie old man’s sight bad been failing him in bis but years.
Hence it is probable that he might easily have been imposed upon
when Sor Maria exhibited her seemingly wounded hands 10 him
from the other side of the convent grille, 'this seems to be a
reasonable explanation* but one would like to know more about the
early relations between the venerable priest and his ecstatic penitent,

VVc .ire rather better informed concerning the east of Father
SUto Fafari, the General of the Dominicans, who, as Lippomanc
repair ted to die Doge, “made .1 new examination with many
tests/ f And convinced himvJf that 11 beyond all doubt ihe stigmata
are genuine and mixarulouft.” Father Fabric deposition from die
high office wlitch lie held was unquestionably connected with the
scandal of Sor Maria's alleged imposture, He was an Italian by
birth, and there is noiSiing to suggest that he bad ever known much
of tiie prioress of the Annunciation convent at Lisbon. But when
rumour; of trickcrv hud begun to circulate again, even after Luis
de Granada had written so strongly in the nun's favour, the
Ib-rmuican General, who happened to be in Spain ar the time,
thought it desirable to verify rht matter for liimself. He accord¬
ingly went to Portugal armed with full powers, and on November
ifl, 1587, he saw ilie stigmata of Maria dc la Visitation, of which
he has left a description in Italian. There were punctures all
round the nun'] forehead* dark scabs as of protruding lui&hjsuU in
the hands and feet, and in Marl i'i ride he tdk m that hr sau a
wound 0 little leis than an inch in length and ra tiler more than
half an inch wide (lungo pat® ittmo dt urt diio /fr it larga

pm di ttur-z'c dito pet Uantm). What he calk a ditto was possibly
rather more than an English inch, but the point 13 of no conse¬
quence. He luvI come provided with -1 piece of soap* but the
attempt made to wash away the marks on ilur hands was Unluccess-
r'tiL At the same time, it seam that 43 the nun protested that the
dightcU touch upon the affected parti caused her interne anguish,
hr felt obliged for pity’s M,kc to desist from any too violent .ipplica¬
tion of the detergent. This could nos have been a very iAtialhctory

B3 Tire physical PflXttomjfA op uYsnctsM

tci c.iT the genuine^ ul fine phtnnmtiv^ f but the favourable
verdic-t of tiui new investigation, as we have seen, was made
generally known, in spite nf unfriend I v mnmun and the hostility
of a minority of her own community, the reputation of the prioress
during those months which witnessed the concentration of the vast
armada in the mouth of the Tagus still stood very high, The
Cardinal Allien of Austria, Philip IT* viceroy in Portugal, took no
step, we ,tre told, without consulting her, and she was formally
asked to bless the great enterprise they line! in hand.

\ ay possibly the bet that the five wounds were figured in the
arms of Portugal may have ted to the belief that the stigmata of
tills reputed saint were in /omc sense an omen of the victory of
thoa arms, We know | n particular that pieces of linen marked
i with her blood were eagerly sought for and were believed to work
many annulling cures. On dime memorials, venerated as relics,
five spats of blood were seen arranged so as to suggest die extremities
of a cm®, the larged spot being in the centre, Fammo, a content
perary and himself a high official of the Inquisition, deicnbd Maria
de b Vjsitacion us ,£ famous throughout all the provinces of Spain
and Italy and indeed even a a far as tlie most distant confines of die
eastern ocean.” tie also informs us of a clause which U not
men tinned in Lippomruio’s nummary of the sentence of the Inqni.tb
tion, 'Phis was an explicit ordinance that nil portraits of the
pretended stigmatica « Fragment of the linen she had used were
to l)e given up and destroyed* Hut Paramo goes on to say that in
spite of this lie name to know, when he was Inquisitor lei Sidly,
that Mary, the wife iof Diego de Guzman* Count of Alba, and
Viceroy of that province, si ill treasured some pieces of linen of this
nature, as well elr a portrait of the nun and a long written account
of her life . 1 This would seem to show that the verdict of the In*
quhltion had not entirely succeeded in pmumiing tlie admirer* of the
former Dominican prioress that die wj* no mine than an impostor.

And here let me confess that l also am not convinced that thn
fhlt troth of the matter was brought to light in the course of the
Inquisition inquiry, I tin not for a moment rugged that Stir Maria
was a taint, or even a woman of exceptional holiness, but l think
it possible that she wni honestly deluded and that some at lean nf
the phenomena atirilmted to her were genuine* There arc many
eajes in which it would seem to me difficult to question the real it v
of the strange manifcstaiitms, notahly the ecstatic condition and
stigmata, which observers declare themselves to have witnessed os

1 Sm P4U«no, Df Qngiiw 4t Aujiuxu Qffcii Swt tnqui tiV/o-u, pp. ^ ^j jq j_

stioimta

(hey developed under their own eyes. Fraud and deception may
in some measure intervene* anti It k nearly always diiTieuit io
decide at what definite point the trickery begins. None the In!, I
do venture very positively to affirm that there are vuionnric* who
have genuine ecstasies und ^enulnr stigmata, but who for a!] dial
are by tin means saints. In that Uiisc it docs not seem to me that
-in dc La Visiiacitm cm quite definitely be set down as an
impostor upon such riendrr evidence as is at present available in
ilie pi itiled jircounti pfeserved of her.

What weighs* of course mom heavily In tfic scale is her own
confession of deliberate trickery, and her explanation of how she
did it* But one may well ask whether the avowals of an accused
on trial before the Inquisition are iti any way more convincing than
the confessions of witches obtained in the pfoiKutkiiu which such *
Ttaimch Protestants as Matthew Hopkins and the other English
witchfinders conducted in the seventeenth century. Thcrexannct be
a shadow of doubt that the unfortunate people brought to trial on
the charge of witchcraft made these confessions* which are still
preserved to us b court records* and that they included in them the
mo&i incredible details about their animal fanulkn, pacts with the
devil, riding dirough ibr air and ritual observances of indescribable
filduatH. 1 The most astonishing feature In tlie case is the fact
that it must have been perfectly well known to the accused witches
that the avowal of such evil practices saved them from nothing.
They were even more liable to be hanged if they confessed than if
they denied everything* and in the English prosecutions torture, as
a rule* docs not seem to have been employed or threatened.

In the case* however, of a trial before the Inquisition, confession,
cvr;-, apart from nv quotum of tpeture, burnt « vury ritifinffr
gain m d« accused, supposing at way; ihat there had been no
previous condemnation and relapse. If Maria de La Visitation—
nnd the same «ena to have been true of Magdalena dc la Ouse—
had stoutly maintained that her stigmata, levitations*
ootnmumomt and other phenomena were of supernatural origin,
lilt court, once satisfied that die wai unsound in any point of faith*
would almost certainly have decider! that if these marvels had
occurred they must have been diabolical to their origin and that
Muria was a sorceress who had made a pou t with thr devil* Now

M™Sufe hl £ Ub hi. A.

Maff “* 1 n [trA-fu.j m Hmrm Eiampt t pp, 10^* ivi, urt-ao, etc,

' If w ^l f* rcmcai l >rjTri that ttiw waj dir line uk™ by Cnuchon and !h?
in^cEuitiin m she oondcrmLUiuri ofSLjoia of Awl

THE PHYSIC At ptiZJTOMKHA or JtYSmLUfU

this was *i much more serious offence Hum :my imposture or
trickery, however profane in chancier. Hypocrisy and even
LUipbctiUjUJi pretences involved m, denial of the Fallh. The
culprit might have to tier die very severed ecclesiastical penalties,
but there would be ni> relaxation u* die secular arm, and no burn¬
ing in an mihi da JL

Sot Maria, I assume, would have, been quite shrewd enough to
know bow ihtrc things were regarded by Inquisiluria] eyes. Ac¬
cording to the received accounts suspicion of lief fraudulent
phenomena had itrst hecn kindled by one of her nuns who, lurking
through a chink in the door of the prioress's cell, had detected die
reverend mother in the act of painting the semblance of a wound
in one of her hands. Father Luh lie Granada and Hie General of
1 the D mntmram , who professed to have investigated the reality of
thew wounds, hud, owing to her pretence of suffering intense pain,
been deterred from applying any effective lest. When, however,
Sor Maria wrw brought before the inquisition, the ofifchdi, we are
told, tul crated no nonsense of this aqft, but, scrubbing vigorously,
removed Lfic paint .nul found the flesh beneath pci'J'ecily sound
and normal, liking Lhus detected in manifest fraud, she withdrew
her previous denials, owned herself guilty and wrote out an ex¬
planation of the various forms of trickery by which she had
succeeded in imposing upon hrt credulous admirers. This saved
her from the stake, but not from a rude penance which lasted to
the end of her days. It is noteworthy that she, like Magdalena
de la Chur, is said to Itave accepted her lot w ith complete resignation
and to have died an exceptionally, holy death.

lu writing his account uf the gencidale nf Father Sisio Fnbri,
Pfic Mortirr has naturally found xxarion to discuss this seandat
of the rjsbon nun which was so closely connected with the General's
deposition from office. 1 I must uwti that Itis ireaimcnt of the
subject does not convince me, F£rc Mnrticr h apparently satisfied
that the report of the washing away of the marks of Sor Mark's
stigmata when she appeared before the officials of i hr Inquisition
prove® beyond dispute dial these protended ivonuds were a mere
imposture. But in Hie Life of Blessed Gemma Galgani we may
leam that Gemma told her first confessor, Mgr, Volpi, that If lie
sent a doctor in examine her be would see nothing. The confessor
perauted and die doctor came on^ Friday when Gemma was in
ecstasy and Hie flpiau were already bleeding, " The doctor
tor.k ,j Lowd r dipped it in water, and sriped Gemma's hands and
1 Murtur, tiimir* dtt MaOnt rt./V, Vol. v PP ,

snUUATA

The blood immediatfily disapjTcared and die skin
showed no sign* of rieatiix, scratch or puncture, at if there kid
never been any laceration."* Of course, a grave suspicion of
fraud rested for a while "Jl Gemma'* stigmata, but there ran he
no question of die reality nf her wound-marts as examined on
<.(her occasions* and her beatification, (hough it ii cxpEi Ub,
alhrmed that this pronounces no verdict upon the supernatural
character n( die phenomena attributed in her. must at any rate
exonerate her from anything like conscious deception. We know
practically nothing about the conditions under which ihesc wound-
marks appear, or are suddenly heated. So far as I may venture
to express any opinion on the subject* all these questions are
extremely difficult and must he left unresolved to the specialists in
neuropathology of A future generation*

There ate also several other matters which mud raise dfuibb in
The minds of those who arc at all familiar with die retards of
stigmatization phenomena. It is difficult to understand fiijw Sor
Maria, if conscious of fraud* could have presented herself before
the Inquisitors with stigmata painted on her hands. It would
always have been easy for her h> declare that, as hapjscns so Ire*
qucmly in these cases, the stigmata had not developed. Even with
those who normally have this experience every Friday* there is an
intermission in paschal timer and also on other; occasions. More¬
over, I find it hard to nccepi the statement that the prioress
produced the effect of rising m the air by some mechanical appa-
ranj. which she worked by gently ranting a handle, or that candles
could have been so arranged in her cell av to surround her fat e
with a mysterious halo of light. On the other hand, this was the
son of story die would be likely to tell when faced with the dire
necessity of giving some natural explanation of happenings which
she herself understood no better than those who were questioning
her.

The pointj which seem to be (he most clearly established are
that thirty-two nuns and four servants testified before die Inquisi¬
tor* in her favour, while only ten nuns and four other sservants
declared the irtanifcsiatiom fraudulent; Further, that not only Luis
dc Granada, but also the Provincial Albert Agayo and the General
Siitt) Fabri, were favourably impeded; and perhaps most weighty
of all that when Sor Maria was found to have declared herself in

1 Cflffrjfl GaJf<r.k Knffluli Trtmlaiion. p, 85, A limiLir

mHltvcr ut Cijc Hidden cliuppettsam of ik vroimdi i* frCunJod in the Life of
Ifcjuin' Gnmth.

9* TTIB rayttOM PilENOMESA QT SfYSTl C J5M

Favour of the independence of Portugal, it became a matter of
urgency with the Government of Phliip il to use every means in
their power to disrrrdQt her and to destroy thr mftucnce she was
still Able tti exercise upon public opinion. It must not be forgotten
that the Inquisition in the Spanish peninsula was in dii exceptional
degree a Stale institution.

As leu been luted above, I am very far from maintaining ihat
Sor Maria was a saint. She mav indeed have been the cunning
impostor that we have lieen commonly l.uigbt to believe. Bui it
seems* on die other hand, at least equally possible that she belonged
lo that class of neurotic or hysterica! visionaries who* being free
from conscious deception, remain sincerely pious in spite of their
delusion*, and who in so many cases develop phenomena which ave
aLtnost inevitably hailed by simple-minded enthusiast* as miraett-
Inus manifestations of the divine favour.

Ust me conclude this chapter by giving an account of a -very
rectni case of stigma tirttiiem which I have personally had the
'ipportuuity of investigating.

The girl, let us call her lizzie Smith, lived in a m^inufaciurirq
town in die north of England and belonged to die an ban dui.
She was then. I should judge, about thirty-seven yean of age
She was bom a Protestant, but when she was in her "teem she amt
across nomc mins *nd eventually was instructed by them am!
rareived into the Catholic Church; About the same time she hod
a fit nr n paralytic stroke which affected her whole left side* The
leg gradually recovered, hut the arm obstinately remained rigid;
the hand was clenched and die nails even began to grow into the
pnlrm She remained in this condition for some rime until a
pilgrimage to Holywell was suggested to her. She went find was
there rather dramaticall} cured. As the latest " mimculde 1 ,> she
tku: attracted a good deal of attention; her photograph appeared
in local newspapers* and die became an object of vent-ration u>
many of the inure humble pilgrims* several, of whom made fririub
with her and invited her to Stay with them in their home*. After
this she began 10 Ik: visited by the spirits of the dcmL Some came
to ask her prayers that they might obtain their release from purga-
hary; other?—and in particular » little girl who had died just after
her Jirst Girnmunion and whose photograph she had seen in the
house of one of her new friend*—came from heaven to watch over
ami direct her. From the guardian spirit last referral to she
received warning that die would soon tic favoured by an apparition
of our Lady and afterwards of our Saviour Himself. When our

mCWATA

Saviour came, ihe was instructed to have some pieces of rloj* Uuen
ready, and also a number of little picture* mid objects cd" piety;
Tor nur Lord, die told, would bless them. After some
poncmeat, the vision of our Saviour duly occurred. He showed
Himjd far* He was in His Passion, 11L* wounds dripping with Wood.
This blood (die was of course alone when thn virion appeared)
Hfc allowed to drip on to the strips of linen, ami He blessed ihr
pintmes by touching them with His lingers, leaving on each four
drops of blood, roughly indicating the extremities of a cross. I
have in my possession a number of these pictures There is no
doubt thai the marks they bear arc those of congealed human,
blood* Sometime Liter she professed! to liavc received the stigmata,
which went renewed from time to time on such days us Good
Friday and iesiivaL of the Farida* The wound* were not deep,*
neither did anyone ever see them forming* It is practically certain
that they were sell-inflicted; but there w&r wounds and tlatry bled*
When 1 taw LLwic Smith in August 1920, arriving al her house
without any notification of my intended visit, she showed me in
the palms of het hands slight but quite perceptible tracer of a
stigmatization which she averred had occurred! on the previous*
Friday. One curious development may be mentioned here,
though it hsi no direct connection with our present subject- In
the November rjf cgtg, the soul of a priest from purgatory, so the
stated, came to her to ask for pro yen. He laid his right hand
upon her right arm, and the hand burnt through the blouse which
she WPS wearing and left the impress of the thumb and ringer*
upon her forearm. There C4n he no question as to the burning of
the sleeve of the blouse, or at to the marks upon her arm. Several
persons* some of them quite sceptical as to llie supernatural
character of these inanjfestatinm (her parish pries; was one of the
Litter number), saw die imprest on when ti was quite fresh* They
asiiircd me that die imprint, a.* of four fingers and a thumb, was
unmistakable- 1 I myself saw the mark* nine months after the
event, though al that lime they were blurred and fading* Finally,
on the afternoon of March 17, 1920, another manifestation

1 Tfonc mart* wrrr arm by at least two pn-rfiral men and by ■ kdy doctor,
who wr-rc «J1 very prmlnrf by them. It « powlble that the b tt c olaf of lb* blew
iorl bIhj the marfca on lire ana weir produced by * * troop aad, kwi ih* rncdkal
did Tint Ktra \xry positive tm ihe pomr* On Urn either hand* if huj was
M tav of hfmianmthail there may bare been little of no r ijvfi in i| ia i Arol,
™| tkifh hlou*r and arm may have twn bumd with a mi-hoi poker. The
uifhctili;, I. liiot at the liam- of her ftt Or atftike oFf.iaxaiv.si*, fj,njjtcrn ye:u3 tidier,
tl war dlE Wl inn which Wlu TV m_4rb* however, were an the right

arm.

94 TILE PltY$tCAL P1LENOMEJfA Of wwm-iw

OCSDftod. She declared dial, the metal iigurc rj|" 4 lurgr, crucifix,
which hung beside her usic'dieu, suddenly be:;an to sweat blood,
i he wblt figure was dripping with blued. She covered the
crucilix with a piece of clean linen and next day took it to her
director, a priest in another town many miles away, '[’here ill his
prabytery I sa* it five months latex, the linen &titt adhering to the
figure and only detariicd from it tilth difficulty owing to the
coagulation oj Lhe blood- Sulwftjnrm developments, upon the
ruilure of which I need not enter* have (i believe) satisfied even
thcec who formerly looked upon these various occurrences as
supernatural, that die incidents nf thr story 1 have just narrate,!
were all due either te> imposture or self-delusion, Still,
brought into the Catholic Church nearly all the members of her
♦ family, and every evening a crowd of humble people assembled in
the room she occupied and there recited the rosary with gnat
devotion.

The itory, it seems to me, is intere stin g as an illration or (he
extravagances of which the hysterical temperament is capable.
The predominance n j the Mood idea is in (ht§ case especially
noticeable. At Li te's imtigtuion, or certainly with her sanction*
a convent u[ Hard-working tiuitf, among whom she fiassed for a
bidden saint, busied themselves in cutting the blood^tokied linen
doth, which am Lord was said to liavc blessed, into fmgpg. , -,
and sewing litem up in little covers of American doth to be warn
around the neck or given to the sick as relics. The clergy lent 00
encouragement to this. sort of propaganda* hut a little band of
followers vccm 10 have been very zealous in the cause. It will hr
noticed ihut the incident of the crucifix sweating blood occurred
sotne months before anything was made public concerning the
happening* at TejHplentcrc, Moreover, curiously enough, on that
very morning (St. Patrick'* Day, March *7, igao;, on which the
figure of Lfcnie s crucifix was bathed in hfood, a photograph had
appeared, in the D^itj Herald repffdtniing the miraculous flow oJ
U-j.m] from a picture hi a French village church. Of this but very
puzzling phenomenon I do not here projjose to speak.* No
adequate mvcstujaiian of the oecunteice has yet taken place,
although the Society for Psydiital Research has for *ome time
contemplated the idea of a systematic enquiry, It may lie sufficient
for my preterit readers to state that the cut^ in whose church ib^

1 A frfc»d of mint wilur \;c6 Ivu^iUn;;}, reuuiniiur iceptii ml, could mzfrm
m> saIMmIuiv ^U^Win, lie Wa* siCcrnipjnttO rj . u this. utGLuan bv the Weil
known poet Mr. W, B, Yratt, 1

STTOMATA

manifestations continued to take placr was not only suspended by Ills
Bishop, but persisted, in saying Mass in defiance of this suspension.
The photograph, however, with a brief account or the phenomenon,
appeared in the Daily Herald, and it is certainly a strange coinci¬
dence that on that very evening Lizzie Smith invited the attention
of her parish clergy and others Co the fact that a wonderful prodigy
had occurred in her room and that the figure of her big crucifix
was dripping with blood.

Tab Case op Paoru Piq

A short article which appeared in the Daily Meat of June ipth,
1930, gave a curiously perverse account of the concourse of people
w ho made their way to Loggia, in Apulia, attracted by ihe renown
of I ii her Pin da Pieirddna, thr saintly Capuchin friar whose stig¬
mata provoked a good deal of discussion in Italy and elsewhere.
The Daily Mad correspondent let u-. know that;

Extraordinary scenes are luting witnessed in Loggia from day to
day* The peasants refuse to confess to any but the young Friar or
to receive Communion Trom another** hand, and in consequence
the rest of the monastery fa idle, while long queues besiege the young
Franciscan and ga*<- in wonder at the markings cn his hands,
sandalled feet, and head he).

And it added that—

The Vatican is not enamoured of such 11 revivals, 1 ' especially
when they lead to a complaint from the head of the monastery
that the ordinary life of ihr plate is tieing interrupted; and so
MoiLslgii.-.T CUcnjtti TeV: was sent over hill and dale lor three days
and nights in a motor-car to seek to calm the devout of Foggia,
speaking in The rt.vmr of Pope Benedict,

There seems, in this case, to be no doubt that Father Pio a a
man or remar table -annhy. He lias sometimes spent much :i!>
eighteen hours at a stretch in the confess tonal. The people throng
to him to seek Ids spiritual direction, just as in years gone by they
used to journey from all parts of France to consult M. Vianncy in

$6 Tlfi PHYSICAL PKXuYO^UiHA OF MYSTtOHM

the little village church of An. There are many stories, which
iecin to I c well substantiated* of the miracles worked by his inter-
cession, .is also of frequent ecstasies and in one or two jnstanrei.
of htlocuriwu Further* there is no question that from September
191ft he bore upon his body the five wound-marks of our Saviour.
The fact is particularly interesting because the cases of complete
stigmatization in male subjects are exceedingly rare. It may
indeed be said that no perfectly satltiaclgry example has been
known, except that or the seraphic Father, St. Francis, himself,
fiut the Roman authorities, guided by the experience of many
centuries,, are wisely distrustful of abnormal favours of die psycho¬
physical urder in which hysteria end other pathological causes, or
the action of evil spirits, or even fraudulent simulation, may at
»any time phiy a pact. The Church never canonizes any of her
children in their lifetime, and even after death she docs not accept
such manifesiatiutu, however well-grounded may he the belief in
Iheir supernatural origin, as the sole or principal foundation for
her fifcvourabje ji idgment,

The truth a that history supplier many sad examples of eatatia
and stigmatics, long held in high repute of sanctity, who lm V c
afterwards foiled away. The two dxieenib-century Spanish nuns
Magdalena dc |a Cruz and Maria dc la Vmiacion, whose pie-
tended revelations and unusual gifts stirred the whole peninsula to
its depths, may, no doubt* have been impostors from the outset,
but also, quite n$ probably, were at first truly privileged servants
of God, until ihr homage which was paid them sapped their virtue
mid filled I hem with conceit. In the chronicles of the Franciscan
Order there is the extraordinary ease of Friar Justin of Hungary
(V- J 445 K w ho had many ecstas ie s* and who on one occasion, in the
presence of St. John Capuiiran and tin whole community, as they
sat in the refectory, was rabed up in the air above their heads in a
kneeling posture and floated 10 a picture of Our Lady* which hung
high upon tits wall. Nevertheless^ shortly afterwards* yielding to
spiritual pride* he left the Order and died miserably, 1 In this
connection it seems worth while to call attention to the trnly other
alleged case of complete masculine stigmatization known to us. in
modern times. It is that of a youth who was then a Jesuit novice
in the Sicilian Province. Strong measures were taken at the time
by the General «T the Jesuits and other superiors to protect tile
novice from tlw consequences of sue h publicity' as had been given

1 Tlie whale etofy fa mounted in druU by Wadding, Aiasbi, jnd edir, Vol

XT, pr

rnonATA

to (he matter, but the individual in question, having long ago left
the Order and being now completely lrat sight of, there tan be no
harm in printing the following letter from the Rector of the English
Jesuit College in Malta;

Dear Father Provincial,

St. Ignalius T College, Malta,
Ap. 36, <8B6.

P.C.

The young scholastic novice whose eyes were cured in December
hut Is now' all the talk of dm island. Me appears to have the
stigmata. 1 went to see him yesterday and conversed with htm
for about two hours. 1 saw the five wounds. On Good Friday
Dr. Schembri tells tne that he and eleven other medical men saw *
these wounds wide open and bleeding. The Father Provincial [of
the Sicilian Province! Cold, me that whenever lie receives Holy
Communion, blood (lows copiously from his breast, hr showed me
three handkerchiefs quite saturated with blood; these handker¬
chiefs had been taken from Ills heart at the end of Mail. The
bleeding begun on the lit of February last, and lias continued on
all Communion days since, except on Easter Sunday. The young
man is in great pain, he ls obliged to walk on fill hech on account
of the wound in the feet. He ^iyj that he Inis lieen through acid
taken part in all the sufferings of Christ's Passion, The marks of
the seoufgcs. Father Pi ovine in I tells u*, were seen on his hack.
He is often wen in a tmtisre, and the body perfectly stiff, the face
smiling, i asked him * great number of question! about the
even Is of the Passion, His answers coincided exactly in every
detail with the Chapel narrative, lie speaks els one who had been a
spectator of all the events lie is recounting, without the least
hesitation. He L only a child and apparently quite incapable of
deceit. An officer risked the Provin cial to put lib Leads on the
novice’s iinn during the time lie was in a trance; this being done,
the young man took the beads in his hand which no one had
hitherto born able to open. When he came to himself, he said
oui Lady had commissioned him to send word to the officer, men¬
tioning his name, that he (the novice) was not a saint and that
therefore such honour should not Imt showed to him* 1 was very
much struck with the conversation I had with the novice. It is
undoubtedly a very extmotdinary case which is a source of great
anxiety to his Superiors* l have asked our community to be very
careful in talking with extents on this subject. Our ettemiet are

o8 Tim FHYSHCAI. tmWfOMELNA OP WYVTICISM

saying that It is a piece of Jesuit cunning to deceive the public*
Wishing your Reverence all paschal joy*. Your* sincerely in Xt..

Musky Martin, $.J«

The writer or this letter seems to have been entirely satisfied D f
the yetiuineucsa of tlir phenomena he referred to, and a friend of
the present writers, who also taw the novice, told him that,
although quite prepared to believe the ease was fraudulent, he had
not been able to delect any Suspicions fin; m rota nee in what he
saw or heard. According tu the account of j||, ihr novice, whose
name, to prevent any danger of unpleasant consequences* we
refrain from printing, ww t at any rate at fim, a very rimple lad,
giving rnrgreat promise of success ns a student. Both before liis
( entrance into the Society of Jesus and at the beginning of fyj
rtnvjL ediip he had sidlered Irnm what a contemporary account
describes as " violent convulsions,” A few months Later Ills eyes
Imd gradually begun to foil him, until almost complete blindness
had set in, and then hr had l>cett irotamanromly cured* Not very-
long afterwards he left the Order, is known tu have been drafted
under the conscription law into the Italian army, but since then
nothing seems to be known, of him.

If we men■ ion this case, it in not, as the reader will readily
believe, because wc have the slightest inclination to include the
stigmata of Father Pfo in the same category, but simply to illustrate
how it happens that ecclesiastical authority a, and for two or three
crmmiti past 3 ms always Ixrcm extremely cautious In bestowing
any son nf formal sanction or recngnitluii upon what are ujunlly
cnndi kved the outward manifestation* of sanctity, f n the processes
Mf beatification the undent will bud tltc Prxmotor Fidn\ popularly
kiioun as die " Devil’s Advocate/’ again and again insisting that,
while such marvels as levitation, stigmatisation, bifocatian, the
knowledge of future or distant events, and above aft, rrstasie^ and
revelations, may all be legitimately submitted in evidence in con-
fionaiion or what has been otherwise proved, the foci ,,j the heroic
virtue 0 r the servant or God must be established hy testimony of
quite another kind, to wit* by the depositions of those wlto have
Item 1 he daily witnesses nf bis life and actions*

A pronouncement .if a he Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office
made public in the Him Apc\titvor Srdis in 1^1 must, for aft
interested in dir phenomena of mysticism, claim attention as a

* For July 51 % 1533. p. .356.

decision of considerable significance. True, its wording waf
negative in ftutm ft merely staled that this supreme ecclesiastical
tribunal, “ after due investigation/' declared that the happenings
., facta) associated with the name of the devout Capuchin, Padre
PiO da Pietraliimii of Sou Giovanni Rntundo, near Foggia, have not
been proved to be supernatural In origin (mot com tan d* tvrumftm
faeterum supernatural it ate), and tJai? Fatihiid were accordingly exhorted
to maintain such art attitude as ii in accordance with t\m " dedara*
lion.** Art utterance of this kind, it will be seen, reflects no sort
of censure upon Padre Fio, and require* no one to modify any
conviction he may have formed of that mystic's personal holiness.
Oh the other hand, it doe* amount to something more than a
p; elution taken to safeguard the good Father from thr indiscreet
atteudom of his ardent clients. If the Roman author! d» had only *
meant to prnieci him from importunities, they could have accora*
ftfWwd tlidr purpose by simpler mcajis. They thought it worth
wiuie to hold a formal investigation, and the conclusion of dun
inquiry was that the evidence so far available docs not prove that
the nigmaia, she works of healing and die alleged bilocations can
be safely considered miraculous, 1

Now, of the hi locutions and the cures J do not propose to my
anything here. From the nature of the case the character of such
occurrences can be judged only when wc arc in the presence <£
very full and exact evidence. But the stigmata are a somewhat
different matter. A* I have said, there can be no doubt that
Padre Pir> bears, and has borne for some years (since September
ttjtO). in hands, feet and side, murk* corresponding ti> the wounds
of our laird 1 ! saeml Passion. Not only have I convened with
several visitors u« San Giovanni Rototufo, who have vm these
mark-*, at any fate thusc in (lie Itami.H, at different times and under
different conditions, hni l have also before me a copy of the medical
reports made by two distinguished Roman doctors, who i ravelled
to Foggia at the invitation of ihe Capuchin Superinn expressly la
investigate live phenomena. 1 One of these, by Professor A. Fit -
mimi, an agnostic pathologist of the Roman University, is dated
July a6, iqig, Although some didkuhy was caused by die £i,.e

1 la 1CJ26 (A*A,S. la-ESfi] AJld ac-sin in Spjjl {A ,1,* flg-±33> thr Huly Office
nail _K11 declare tfuu ctrltiui book* whkh hmi lirna WBtm *biui IVIrc werv
rgnjiaacn rfae .nirr, anti mmndi'ct the faithful of Ihrtf 1 Eli tv of ubitaiiiiny from
vinfic? lilui or CQrrH}untlin|{ willi lum. J.hLG-

M ani Irutrblrct fc.r tflfK ta lllC yrtil kindimc at the tvloil Rev. A. J. KctMrJy.
O.^-f -C . Ajr rhhn l i tm uf ShtiU. whf* htmwlf had Vttttnl P^ttre Fnj *nd had
tceta given every faidlsi)™ Ui cxa.mii it LhcK nun tFainfir mi.

THE fuvsical PMEnOmema. or mysticism

th-t? I .v-nr IV ;i' thiir ilate hail bso using iodine as aji aitringcfit
to clictk the bleeding, and that the marks in consequence might
have been judged by a careless observer to be merely the stain of
the iodine, Professor Bignumj attests the existence of superficial
scars upon the t lands and feet and the form of a cross upon the
left breast. He finds that time points arc marked by extreme
sensitiveness (hypcrajthrab), and dots not consider them to have
been anj:(dally produced. The lerioiis art described by him as
due to a necrosis of the epidermis of neurotic origin, and their
symmetrical arrangement he considers to be probably attributable
to unconscious suggestion, la his view there k nothing in the case
which cannot be hilly accounted for by natural causes.

Though Prijfcswr Btgnami learnt from die Father Jiinadf that
" ltierr had been a ilight discharge of blood from the p ounds at .in
euriier dine, nothing nf ihe sort was perceptible at ihr date cfluji
vtAit in July Dr. George Frsta, a dritingmished Gatholk

physician of Rome, who travelled to Foggia four or five months
later, was in this respect metre fortunate. Drops of blood were
trickling from the crosuhapcd scar on the breast (to call it a wound
ink;h£ suggest a fall, idea of a rift in the flesh with open hp S i and
Lhcre were aim a few drops noting from the scab on otic of the hands.
In other respects the descriptions given by the two doctors of the
appearances observed are concordant enough. 'Iltere were no
deep fissures penetrating the extremities, no copious and periodical
litmorrhaget. /Vs compared with die wounds of Domcnfca
1 -,zzjri T St. Veronica Giuliani and severed other faniotu itigma-
lures, the phenomena in Padre Pig's case arc not in any way
remarkable; bat the sligmata arc there. Moreover, this particular
m.Liiifrisiaucni m subjects of the ttudfl get ia extremdy :ar,:, : p.
wTifing on this subject I have stated that ! knew of no qui te sada-
focticriy example since the days of St, Francis of Assisi. Fuller
investigation has only confirmed Urn view, and, if on no other
ground than its exceptional character, the case of the Capuchin
asceric of Fogg ia h always likely to claim from students an un-
wam ® d **<*■* c ; f attention. But to sa y that a phenomenon h rare
even exceedingly rate, is by no means the same thing as to show
that it ia miraculous. The Congregation of the Holy Office mmt
certainly have had before them the reports of Dr*. Blgnajni and
Festa, and probably an immense amount of other evidence, pro vine
the reality of those Itricms which. when Padre Pig celebrates Mass

1 It wiU be remembered that bvUrrta ifidf, at
iitppoxd 1o iir mi gk]u: ively feminine

in etymole^ luggeite, w*j

rrwiMATA

TO!

everyone near him can discern la fal$ lands* and the presence of
which in hit feet is attested by his laboured and painful gait.
None the less, the sacred tribunal lias decided il^ i rly-y» maria are
rsn: necessarily supernatural in their origin* a pronouncement wliich
must give piuise To many over-enthusiastic believers in the mm WI.
loti it Vihn nourish their piety upon the disquisitions of the late Dr.
Imbert-Gourbeyie 1 or Padre Genuine, C.P<

But if the formation of these wounds is not a miraculous effect,
to Wha* natural cause can they I* traced? You surely will not
suggest, wm■<■ of my reader may exclaim, that such phenomena
are of hysterical origin. In the case of Padre Pio, not only Dr +
George Festa, but even Professor Bignami* attests that, apan from
the hypenratliraia in the region of the lesions themselves, there are
no hysterical symptoms. Padre Pio h always exceptionally calm *
and composed. There is no bad family history. lie himself
with a candid simplicity which evidently made a profound im¬
pression upon the rationalist Professor, declared that he had never
suffered from any nervous malady. He has never been subject to
fainting fits or convulsions or tremors. He sleeps well and ii not
troubled with dreams. Similarly, the author of the Life i>f Grmma
Celgani La at pains to show through many pages that none of the
symptoms usually associated with hysteria were present in her
case. 5 1 am no; in a position to challenge thc?c statements, and
indeed ihcre is no strict nerd to challenge them. What Es readied
by comparatively few persons outside die medical profession is the
fact that a new and, as it seems, much more exact conception of
Lhe neurosis still commonly called hysteria has come to prevail
within the Iasi thirty years, and that these views have bren im¬
mensely developed and corroborated by the exfiericnces oi tlst!
Four Years' War. The associations of the word hysteria., as It is
Commonly understood by the public at large, are so nunlenllng and
*r> disparaging to the patient that many neurologists have urged
dial a new name should be found for it, u Suggestion Neurosis"
being inconveniently cumbersome, the term “ hthlaihtn M (if., a
stale curable by persuasion), which is used by Babimki, and is
introduced fay him into the thle or tine of his boob, seems likely
in time to win acceptance. No doubt ii cantir-T hr maintained
that even now all the great aiilhoriiia are agreed as to lhe essential

1 lmb«i*Goiirbeyw, la sstw* (Fitrfc especially Vgl, L mj,

433 - 5 ^

* hatlw Gtinwofr, Pj- lift «f (l*tamn Ca^tiii, I cuj (ram. ^Locdott. Sands.
IfBw* pp. 3«3Hl etc. I fimj it rallitr hurt to reconcile these iHifmmii urjfcti
me rally mdkaJ hiimry uf ihc case .u u;L fordi in ihr tut Itnian cduirm.

t ua

Tlir TOVKCAi- FOEBtalCftjV OF MYTTEcrSM

ftamrt of System, Pierre Janet b inclined to by special sires*
upon ” ifie rtiTiUiion of ihr fide! of ctmsrioittmr!, >r j,nri Its iiccorn*
panying amnesias. Freud, besides HU insistence on conversion and
•ymboLfem, emphasizes die repression,-* the driving hade■■ imn the
iub-cnnKiousdCss, of ideas that arc painfu L In Babi uski \. v i e v r J j r
- . i[ Landing teature or hysteria is dial it is a disorder which can he
cured by simple “ persuasion,” i\c M by countcr-uiggcflioa; while
Dr. Bcniheim, of Nancy, whose early contributions to the discussion
were primed in 1884, dec Limit that the word “ hysterical ” ought
lo lie strictly confined to the fits lyrists} of this nauii'c. seeing that
these same fits have no necessary connection w r ith iIol unbalanced
and emotional type if character with which tltt name is associated
in the popular nuntL On the oilier hand, practically all ncuro-
* logins are now unanimous in affirming the great truth that " hys¬
teria is before everything die a mental disease consisting chiefly in
an cxaggeratioi 1 offfiggWtMhty, 111 Sd mee U indebted to U £bmiit
and Charcot for the demonstration of thb principle, tliuugh Char-
cotU shibboleths of diagnosis [hU ir stigmata ”} are now- given up,
precisely because his hysterical patients were more suggestible limn
he hiirodf realized, 3 Further, there h at present an almost equally
general agreement in the view that this suggestibility, manifesting
Itadf on occasion through such disorders as Aphasia, nervum
Aiuatharaa, palsies* inhibitions of hearing and vision, etc., Ire-
qumily occur in subject* who are in no way unbalanced and li.ivc
nr.vrr had a hr ol hysterics in thetir lives. Though, we need not
ncccharily identify ounclves with dir precise standpoint of Dr
Bcrnhctni, we cm only pay tribute to Jus wide practical experience
during some Ibrty years in dealing with every farm of psycho*
iieurods. We cannot, therefore* fail to l« Impressed when we find

him mi r r >t 7 vriitinj? a* follows:

The immense majority of hysterical women, a> the term h
popularly uttderetood, have no fi». They may, of course, occa-
ritmally have them, as others do, but there is no greater proportion
of such fits among subjects who are silly and unbalanced than
there a amongst ordinary folk. Ox. the other hand d 1C women
who do suffer foam hysteria [am dt nrtfi) are not ua a rule of this

TV Marr offfaima, intrMtictioa 1*ihr )9W Cil iiU>n,

J h t-e™ coiirhisivcly provn:! ihat lim retractidu of tlu* viun! Fi„U .1

«^rr ? 1>m onir procatm lui subjerr: h-tjuur [ ti hb raj

ti^rl him tdf all uucnmie inuajy iiujgrstai [hem t. iJir jJatitnt, JI1 15

s-nmsATA

103

type. xVJjmy me thoughtful people with well -or dried minds;
man y arc warm-hearted, full of feeling and inspired by the highest
moral ideals, neither untruthful nor addicted to simulation
(xmtilatT&cf) * nor erode. Beyond question, they are impressionable
and ure affected by emotional stimuli which are specifically
hysteriogenctic, Bus outside of their fits 1 have never found it
possible to identify them with any special type of character. In
nil ordinary relations they may have the same temperament, the
same virtue?, the same vices as other people. 1

Similarly, an English neurologist, Dr. A. F Hunt, in his
Croon hu Lectures, tcQl ns:

It is so common to regard certain mental qualities as hysterical,
and to apply the term hysterical to a certain type of individual,
ihai It requires considerable courage 10 reject altogether the
doctrine of a specific psychic:si disorder to which the name hysteria
can be given. . . , For several years l accepted the definition of
hysteria its an abnormal mental condition in which the individual
is unduly prone to develop symptoms, as a result of suggestion.
But the experience of the war has taught us that, given a sufficiently
powerful suggestion, dierc .sre probably no individuals wha would
nut develop hysterical symptoms. * .. Many cases of gro« hysterical
symptoms occurred in soldiers who lead 110 family or personal
history of neuroses, and who were perfectly fit until the moment
that one of the exceptionally powerful cKciiing causes, such as
occlu comparatively rarely apart fmm war, suggested some hys¬
terical symptom . After its dirappftarttace as ii res Lilt of psycho¬
therapy the man was once more perfectly lit, and his subsequent
history showed that he remained no mr-rc Liable titan any of his
companions to develop new symptoms.... Mftny cases of hysteria
will be missed if it is only looked tor in so-called hysterical persona. 1

We must gii-c up die idea. then, that hysterical disorders are
only to he met with in subjects who are conspicuously neurotic,
unbalanced, untruthful, selfish and weak-minded, and it conse¬
quently follows thut there is no necessary disparagement in the
asstKiaibn of even exalted sanctity with pithiatiim, that is to say,
with the emergence of certain neuroses cornmnnly classed as hys¬
terical. Thr holiness or Padre Pie or of Gemma Galgaat or of

1 Bte uhr i m, Avkmuttim* if Su££nrio l Tjiri: 1#]]-, Atcm) , p. 1 2*.

1 Hunt. Cfnomw tjthetf u i!u fiyfAoipfr of ifu St- £Lii. r .Smjfj ijxidon, \ Q’JGy,
PV‘ 3’*‘

ri >4 rut phyuoai. pttawost&tA or imnow

sudi fame at mystic* of an earlier ~gc .15. Maria Agrcda and Anne
Catherine finuwrith may l*r real enough, and yet this tact h not
inconsistent with a liability to [be occurrence of suggestion netiroits,
mamfesLcd at times by umtliug phenomena which very naturally
often been misinterpreted by their contemporaries. Long
before medical science id these matters had readied its present
development the Ghutch manifested a jound instinct in tile regula¬
tion of her processes of beatification and canonization. ” No
amoum of evidence as to alleged marvels, the charismta or graiiat
grain datxt as they were sometimes called, could be accepted in
lieu of testimony to the virtuous conduct or those who were to In;
Solemnly proposed for the veneration of the Faithful Such
phenomena as the itigmata, bifoefoon, a knowledge of distant and
future events, ecstisries, aerial raptures, and 50 on, were accepted
and welcomed as pari of the proofs submitted, but they could not
stand alone. I hey were only regarded as confirmatory of the
imtuuony or those who from person*! knowledge bore witness 10
the heroic standard ot virtue prat:tried by the Servant of Gf>d
during his lifetime in all relations.

I-turner, there is the mote need of caution because, while, as In
the case n| .Padre Rio, we often find strange physical and psychic
pfirhumeita apparently free from any association with hysterical
extravagance, there are also other cuss where similar phenomena
arc in t he lives of pious awe tics wlKree medical history

Seems in be a chronicle of almost every hysterical symptom known
fo neurologists In this connection it may be interesting to give
some account r>f a rare and very curious biography which I have
UKcly had an opportunity of penning, ft is not by any means
the only case of Lite son I liave met with, but there are features in
tins story which specially recommend it as a convenient Uluftratlad,

Amiit Maria Caitreca was bom at Fabriano in the Marches of
™™ on November 13, Ib 7 a She became a Religious, embrac¬
ing Ihe somewhat austere rule of the Capudiin nuns, in their
convent m that city, on May 13, 1697, befog then s6f years old,
bvuihiiUy, aftei long ruling (he Community a-. Abbess, k Madre
Costume Maria, as she was called in religion, died there in her
™ Jl year mi January *2, ijtf. Her Ufe, forming a sufoiaimal
quarto volume <j: more than 400 pages, was written shortly after¬
wards by Canon Augekgoitfoo Bn Li from the materials collected
by her confess and others, and was printed at Fabriano in i 74 -
Creddoui and cttthuiuutir iheugh the author undoubtedly was he
icaves ’ nev^thdess, -m impression of simple candour, and ho was

mOUATA

105

in a position to obtain full information about one who bad never
travelled mom than a few miles away from the town in which both
she and Iter biographer wore bom and died. At die age of three,
Anna Maria was taught to read by an uncle of whom she was uo
frightened that the sound tir his step made her turn pale and cold
and throw fcasdf Into her mother's arms* Her father and mother
died when site was eight t hence sin- w;is sent to .vehool at a ikne-
dictine Convent where two of her aunts were nuns. Hem her
terror? were augmented, for one of these aunts inspired her with
such awe that if diis cider Ey relative met her m tile corridor or
looked at Iter when she was taking her supper Iri the refectory, the
child dropped everything she had in her hands, whether it wa* a
full basin of soup or a pile of boohs. But what (in accord with
dir theories of Janet at any rate) must be counted a much more
iiftmistokahie symptom of hysterical neurosis is the strange amnesia
which came upon Anna Maria when she was eight years old.
She was, it appear^ particularly clever at reading aloud, so much
10 that the turns employed her jcimmincj in reading 10 the com¬
munity. One day, shortly after having experienced some kind of
vision, she suddenly and completely lost the memory of everything
die had Learnt, Whether tKii amount'-d 10 a dissociation of
personality it L: lianl to my, hut the child hull to begin to learn
her a, b, 0 over again, ami though -.he had l>ccn tfcHful at her
needle, die found hcrsell incapable of the simplest piece of sewing.
A year later, with equal suddenness. the remembrance came back
to her of all that she had previously forgotten. 1 Hardly leu
significant were the perversities she cxliibited in the matter of diet;
both in her childhood and Throughout her early life. Even before
the loss of memory just referred 10 wc hear of strange disorders
winch puzzled ihr doctors, in the course of which she often passed
two or three days at a time without inking any sort of food. 8
Later on, when she was about eighteen, she was unable for a year
together to cat either meal or eggs, tier diet consisted of nothing
but curds (rirate) and figs. She drank no wine, but only water
with sometime* a little vinegar in it If die forced herself In
obedience to her doctor to depart from ihjs regimen, all that she
took was at once returned. 1 Moreover, :ti the experience of
similar cases at die present day would lead us to anticipate, there
were many other vomiting!, and occasionally ItstbAtemeses, which

1 EIliSj, VUa dill* Mndf t Caftunii Afek Cajt't.j, p. 7.

* JIM p, 6.

1 ffp. 15- 1 &.

JllG THE PHYMCAl m£N0HEHA OF MVTTULTXU.

1-ist Wit n? complicated by ihe eructation of balls of hair, bits of
suriiii: and *cra|M of paper. 1 Fhc excretory processes were also
tJHitrfeicd wltk We trad ol jKMtixij o i six nr eight day* together
when absolutely nothing passed, 1

it was hardly to be expected that in a boot which Li ostemibly
a spirit!c:ii hiograph} written nearly two centuries ago we should
find any accurate detail about such matters as jitrsihcsiASy or
hemiplegias, and paraplegias. But there is every reason to suppose
that m the mu ladies which utterly battled the skill ofher numerous
doctors thi^e hysterical symptoms were often present, We read
of a long illness, when the was about twenty* In which she was for
a time "devoid of all external feeling ”, 5 wo also leant that for
months she w=u unable to stand upon her Teet. but was afterward*
aide to go about on crutchn, we nrc told how at this period she
suffered from tfrange phobias and would cievtr allow herself to be
left alone for a moment unless the door was securely locked . 4
.Most of Lhoc wltacka, in which she was often believed to be at
death** door and mere tlian once received the Last Sacraments,
were cured suddenly and* as she t ho Light, mitmiikuudu. Anna
Maria brrsdfi and her pious advisers* were content to believe that
all her disorders, phvsieti and mental, were die direct work of the
devil. " It would have touched a heart of stone," says her bio-
gr:tpber, 11 to see how she was often violently hurled from die chair
on which dte w.is sitting, sometimes dragged alone the ground,
sometimes w> dazed and bewildered tltat she was led to run about
dir house, bartTi* t ami only haff-dodied, in order to throw hersdf
oui 1 .1 a window or do lirnelf some other desperate rmschicE J,L At
die same time there warn* to he no evidence that Anna Maria luid
at this period manifested any unwonted signs of piety, except
perhaps a tendency to have visions. It wai one or these w inch
brought to a head a latent desire she had for winr time entertained
of consecrating herself to God as a nun. She wai, we are told
fond of pretty and quaint coiffures (or possibly kata}* for which
purpose "she often spent some hours before the mirror .' -6 One
day, when die was thus engaged, she suddenly saw in the g|a$s,

1 t&- fp 1 ^, Sfi, 13 a.

* ft id pp. iH'j, 145 - "Nr" primi OiMScj sflnrnt fii fattd U rtmio, che apii#-ja
'«■* arri '- ' 1 - i ■ rf ar fuon ujij Min. dorian; ri in ahri set aiMlrcja, rti.w, ir »-
;^ravi"p pur d’tum iliHa."

* ft.id p, r®. * /Wtf, p. 1^, * fahL p. 41.

1 " EAmta Man a aJTezzion a t.L MCCnr' cua \lltj vanish dc' t&xntf nbhisr^n
menti tlj ioi»; ,ki Cut ben mitmr Ipeteln lisente psii art: *lk> iprecS,. 1 '

mOMATA

107

not her own countenance merely, but the face of our Saviour
crowned with thorns and dripping with blood. Moreover, she
thought He spoke to her and bade her hesitate no longer, but
consecrate herself to Him in the habit of St. Francis. Owing to
her infirmities and other complications, some years passed before
site could carry her purpose into effect, but when she eventually
became a novice, things from a medical point of view grew worse
rather than better. On the very first morning her head was found
all swollen and bruised—tliis, it is averred, being the work of the
devil, who liad beaten her. In choir the most extraordinary things
happened. She would suddenly be thrown down flat on her face.
As she stood singing die Office her breviary would fly out of her
hands to the other end of the room . 1 In U»c presence of all the
nuns she would fall down In a fit, marked with die most horrible
spasms and contortions, her neck twisted awry and *' her leg
bending the wrong way, so that sometimes the point of her foot
touched the upper part of the Abdomen.’'* Whether this was the
grand/ hystiri4 of Charcot with its four well-marked stages, the
details given do not enable us to decide, but such phrases as
“ hearing her choke with indescribable misery '* would seem to
point to the globus, if it were not that her tongue was found M forced
h.u k into her throat.*' But die full story of the excitements w'hich
disturbed the peace of the cloister on the coming of Suor Costante
Maria would be endless. There were swellings and contusions,
alternations of heat and cold, blistering* as if her limbs had been
dipped in scalding water. She wanted to say Office properly, but
for more than a month together her lips could only frame pro¬
fanities and curses.* When she tried to go to confession or to
approach the altar for Communion, the way seemed to be strewn
with red-hot ashes, the fire of wliich could only be quenched by a
plentiful besprinkling with holy water . 4 All the same, she felt this
fire so intensely that long draughts of cool water were afterwards
needed to revive her. At other times the way to Communion was
barred by a ruffian with a drawn sword, visible of course to her
alone.

But among all the incidents which filled the first seven years of
her life as a nun, two are especially interesting in the light of

1 Hid. p. 54.

■ Ibid. p. 55. 1 am unable to *ay whether thn drtail u correct. We mini
remember that the writer could not poHiidy himirlf have witnessed any of these
Attacix Hr could only repeat the prol’-it'ly exaggerated description of
who had been prrmi forty, ft re yran earlier.

• an. p. 74. • ikid. p. 56.

t08 THE fltVStCAL PHENOMENA OF MY3TIOSM

tnodcm investigations of the hysteria, neurosis* Very natural lv, in
the case of such a nmice, ahr was not admitted to make her pro-
fesion at the rnd of one year, qnd shortly a ft reward* a new in¬
firmity manifested itself which Lasted for some mom}is. Outing
iliis time u ihe ceased to be her natural self {mimvjwn <H si) , and
whatever was said or done ahr paid no heed to anything, hut
prattled away with a most charming grace of manner, seeming in
took, in language and in all ibe did, to br juit a little child of five
ycurs old.' h; When we recall the ammriu which ihr nonce had
experienced twenty years earlier, during which lie had to learn
the alphabet again, this looks very like a case of dmociiLjOtt and
a return to the secondary personality wliich had mam tested Itself
at that time.

The other ?ef of incidents to which T refer point cither to \om-
nambulbiti or In a " fugue ** prematurely arrested* It sctm.i
certain that Suor Cestante Maria was several times found wander¬
ing aWt the boiive during the night in a dared state, though this
was commonly attributed to diabolical malice, and was connected
with wd.rd happening! and nets of physical violence which cannot
here he discussed. But *m one occasion ihc Mistress f .f Novice!
met her in the middle of the night with the hep of the enclosure
in her liand* She asked her where ihe going, and Soar
Costante replied that Father Bosdari, the EMmmUniiry, was
waiting for her in die parlour to lake her home. Again, on
annrhri night, the novice, once more taking Lht keys, went of her
own accord to the bedside of one of the nuns and told her the same
story. The mm thus awakened was terribly shucked and spoke so
strongly that Suar C^tante was completely roused and mired in
confusion. - At yet an in her lime it is suited that she had actually
hunted out her secular clothes and, wits in the act of opening the
door with the keys which she had again taken, when some midden
shock, or the prMice of some of the nuns, seems to have bronchi
her to herself. On the other IvukI. we arc told that when her
unde and her brother, hearing of the disturbance* her presence in
the convent liad aroused, came in the daytime to fetch her away
she absolutely refused to go with til cm . 1

In spite of nil these agitations which destroyed the peace of the
dotst- r and affected even the bishop and the whole diocese, Suor
Cosmnte eventually w on the confidence of her fellow nuns, and die
seems tint only to have ghtm proof of a strange knowledge of

1 Hid, p. C4 * Hid, pp,

* Hid. pp. 63 aeuI 6i*

TfttiliATA

T t>9

dini.-rti and future fieiiii, 1 but id hutfc isrm credited wtlj many
psycho-physical phciminoia, Though the majority of the rtung
inclined at first to the belief that ?h r was paeseised by the devil,,
she was after «ro yean dec led abbess contrary to her own wish,
nnd again subsequently rc^dtacted, dying eventually in die odour
of sanctity in that office. The evidence for the fact that die was
'seemingly about : 715) marked with the stigmata, 1 retaining metre
particularly a permanent wound in her tide, cannot easily be
rejected* 1 We also rend of her being mysteriously supported in
the air, 4 and that an unaccountable perfume exhaled from her
person, particularly on certain feasts.* 1 cannot here discuss the
authenticity o( thtii - marvels, but 1 am satisfied that, just as not
infrequently happens in certain stages of hypnosis perhaps through
some form of hypertuthesta not yet sulfidently investigated), Suor
OwUiutc Marla did posArti -strange supernormal knowledge of a
kind laird to explain, more particularly in regard to matters
nflbCtiqg her conlessor, Don Filippo Gioitantotlj* it is also difficult
to relist the conviction that die was not only eminently sn^gatibtc,
blit that the confessor Occupied towards her a relation cloudy
analogous to that of the hypnotiser to the hypnotised subject.
For example, during one of her maladies she lovt die sense of
eight—mi obviously hysterical blind (less. The confessor com¬
mand cd her to stand up ami read the hour of None, and she at
cmr did so without difficulty/ Similarly, when she came to
receive Holy Omnnunion -he sometimes was unable 10 open her
mouth, or having opened it, to close it again. Here again the
confessor eventually found that lie could help her, Abu, in some
Imianres, the superior of the convent was able to exercise a similar
Influence. 7

Tlicre b much more which skeins to call for comment in this
curious case, but at the close of an already too long chapter, f fan
only leave the hi els 10 speak for thomrlves. They certainly seem
to justify, if such justification were needed,, the caution shown by
ecclesiastical authority its affirming the supernatural character of
any phenomena with which " pi dualism *' may be aisociated-

* /fttf. pp. nia-i uni iisB-ux

1 At thr n^t- one, wtulc itili m |j« cnuHe, die w* ■. marlod oti Tmn rh, feci
an: I ii-Je Ia- a bbdng bg vdukrh uj the wcud ermm I of the bjtimjrii niddenly
n.rokc Up In dw fire ivnd ilrutk h-r in rhov: five places [/Aii. p r 3), The aMlhof
or the Liir tlwut ihi* u the iH^intunff of her nii^aiu.

1 /ttf. pp- 190-7. * jtid, pp. ^4^-3

* p. a?0. p. 1(4,

* fiMf. p, l^a.

I lYSTtRlA ASH DuAI. PERSONALITY

Thf Strong? Car uj Dr. Jcivil and Mr, Unit has familiarized
English tr.Lficr. with the idea of what is now most commonly called
“ dissociation," a condition which suggests the possible co-ariist*rice
of two or more personalities in one h uman subject Though
R, L. Stev'cuKin't story is Mid to have originated in a dream. the
essential fealnte of the fiction, via:., dial the mine man may *how
himself in two entirely dlflctent characters, neither uf which is
necessarily conscious of the exigence of the other, h A fact which
nn psyditita^bt at the present time wEH venture to rihputr. We
may readily admit iliat iti real life two personalities so diametrically
opposed in their attitude to good and evil as the Jekyll and Hyde
of the a on,- arc randy, if ever, exhibited by die srmie tnrfivldiul
Km we do, ;dl dir sAine, iihHI astonishing contrast.

For example, the caw of " Georges Mamsco ,! Ims been rather
fully discussed by toe in TV AfWA tor December trjr.- and January
Here wai a voting woman, an unmarried mother, who
Liiet developed an extraordinary mystical tetidcnry, seemingly
without any violent crisis of umi'enum, Jibe had been fay turns
a dampumt d« lioni in a menagerie, a contortionist {fnnmf mpmt}
a lightning-sketch artist. a discus* t and .i secret service agent during
the War, Then wt find her practising asceticism, lying bed-^lddcti,
paralysed And apparently at death’s door* until she was suddenly
and miraculously restored to Iteiihh at the shrine of Oui Lady of
H.db. Siie gathered round licr a small clientele of admirers, and
kept them busy taking down htr endless revelations which were to
lie coramimLated to the Pope. She starved herself and developed
stigmata in Linds, feet and ridr, as well as the bleeding punctures
iA' the crown of thorns—it k not <|ube easy in the light of existing
photographs to believe die wuundi arrifiivt 1 —and she officiated as
a sort tifliigh priestess at religion* rites of her qwn devising. The
climax was readied When Bertha Mrazck (alia* Georges Marasco)

‘ ' lhr praumplksti £u: lV ^rtulnrarn of <be w.-in.-t. :t ^nich iTrctmbmcd bv
' •' «' ■ O'l Iirlufiu Ti.Ttlunir '■ J'i:n ibc l.'.liioil] jfLri liasS-L

u ■’••-1‘hctl and ;.ltover;; ! i'h's| by Ur. Alfie.l Ledilc: in hi* hmchure Dai ftaisA

* - *&. PJI>«f3l7l03> S-r Ucknw, p 3 n r "

rnaidATA

itr

was arreytcd by the police on 3 charge oJ obtaining money under
false piriciLcc?* and her whole history after long investigation camr
our in court. The nionry does not seem to have been squandered
or misappropriated, and die medical experts appointed by the
Bna^ets tribunal to inquire into her mental condition reported
tlaat .die wm suffering from a dcdvtibk;t:cu: dr fvnomqiiJSt in other
words, from a dissociation or disintegration of consciousness.
They recommended her seclusion in Miinc EatcitnriiJm on the
ground that ' 1 she exerchts an unhealthy Influence over people of
weak mind treatise they arc contagiously .lfTecird by her own
mental state/ 1

This is undoubtedly 3 less usual type of psychosis, but ojic
specially interesting to Catholics on account of its mystical leatuio.
On die other hand, examples of an entirely secular character yrr
numerous,. and during the last fifty years or more titty have been
very rare fully recorded. To the case of Mnllie Fane Iter 1 have
made reference in another chapter: bisi the evidence for Mollies
five distinct personalities is hi king in precision 1 and b much inferior
to that presented for the extraordinary phenomena ohrePfltd in Dr.
Morton Prince's Sally Beauchamp* in the Lvonic of Pierre Janet,
in Azam 1 * patient Fclld* X. in Louis Vive at Rochefort, at in
Turaney \ cnnum, die Illinois girL All these remarkable examples
of dissociation may be conveniently U udied id F T \V. H, Mycrtft
Hwnan Pmciiality* But there lias licen no dearth of timilar
abnormalities since Myers, who died in iooi T left lii> yrcat under-
fating still unfinished. Fot instance, the Doris Tidier case, re¬
counted at immense length by Dr, W. Franklin Prince and
Professor ilyslop in three lolumrs of the American S.P.R. Pn i-
ittdwgt (1915*17), h especially intcrr-Mine, For fuller illufltrft-
tion one dassicai example, which is quoted by Professor Pierre
Janet as the earliest known stort of the kind, may be reproduced
here because ft 15 conveniently devoid of (umpUcajbm*, and
resembles the abnormal eijieriaicc which forms the main subject
of the present article* It was narrated in Dr- Mat „\ r tih h s Philawpfa
°f Skip (1830), hiu I give it as repealed by Time Janet.

A well-otfomied, vrrihbrrd young kd} of a good const Etubrm

’ F, U, 14 Myers fft PflWi'sfr, V«t !, 7 - tij, that chu tiv “ nu#Ju

ilftvr ]*ceri Oftr or die OnM iiutrucm .* of all luu| :i been observed lusd rcconlccl
K3RUffic aeniraiy .. 11 but lie add*, lu -m* RiKij pfiini m die c**r, lEwflt l ' r!ir
probity of the whole fircaup ka* ahrai V tji held alyjv*" ctKipici-Ori■"

* Sre Veil, 1, pp, irrhibn J(J©3l; and ef. ahn T. W, MfttMl, Mtxikti

PrKhtdajj W Pijthvai Rama, Mcihurn, 1333.

1]2 JTJT PHYSICAL PltES'DMKSA OF XV3TICE5M

was suddenly scfecd, without previous warning, with a profound
tlezp, which lasted several hours longer than usual On awaking,
she had forgotten all she knew ; her memory was like a tabulu rasa
and had preserved no notion cither of words or things ; it vrtf
necessary to teach her everything anew, Tims site vi. obliged to.
Icam ogaio reading, writing, ciphering. Link by little she became
familiar ired with the persons and. thing? -mroimding her, which
were for her as if she saw them for the first lime. Her progress was
rapid. After a rather lone time she was, without anv known cause,
seized wiih a sleep similar to that which had preceded Jicr new life.
On awaking^ she found herself in the same state in which she was
before Iter hot sleep. She hod no return i bra rice of anything that
had passed during the ItttrrvaL In a word, in the old state she
wits ignorant of the new slate. It was thus that she called her two
livo, which were continued separately and alternatively through
remembrance. During more than fmu year* this young lady
presented these phenomena idlnOJt periodically. In one slate or in
the other, she did not remember licr double character, any more
than two distinct persons remember their respective natures. Tor
instance, in the periods of her <dH ,Mi.r, she possessed all she know*
ledge she acquired in her childhood and youth ; m her new nate
she knew only what she had learned since. ... lu her old unto
rh r ' had a very fine handwriting, the one she had always had, while
in her new Hate her handwriting was hid, awkward, childish as it
were, becatiws she had neither the lime nor the means to perfect it. 1

Let us remember fun her that Theresa Neumann of Kannetsremh,
according to die testimony of her most ardent devotees, exhibits
from time to time a timdftr change of personality*. In the condi¬
tion which her compatriots describe as fystanJ 4ts Eingrrummauttns
(stale of absorption} slur acts and speaks as a child of five would do.
She is unable to grasp the meaning of the word Pope, nod instead
of announcing that she sees six people she says out and one and one*
etc., six times, 1

But It may be interesting to describe- From a quite recent account*

4 Pierre Jaiiri, Mai** Htittrw, pp. 63-u,

•One vuitar (Ptae Bruno O.D.C. tn Fta d n CamJHswuj, Oct 1936, & jfoii
rksctiha ha u whmmfl B» « when in |iiU UAie, uqd Bcntfu Haft

Gotnlmraioa ttflft W uisrn ofdrvotioo, J.H.C.

1 The hook » Pnntrirh Ritter von UmV Thftts* 0/ JTamnirmth; a Jfm
Chnmnt , MtlviaukK, 1935. I h*ve not Ktn die Oetmee qrlgjtu!, |,'U the duts
mmiwrorrl Inddentnily In the tort dime that the volume ammt have Ixca
compJrlftl Ticforr the autumn ef 19)4. The auuutit amm pp. 114-13 of |h f
AmetkiUs m i mU lwe. T j

fnc uMTA

how lheie dhsociatiuits of personality come about quite unex¬
pectedly, Theresa, we learn * was on one occasion sitting on a sofa
talking with Pfarrer Naber (her confessor) ajid tivo other priests
about indifferent mattery Suddenly she Ind a vision of the Liter
history of St. Mary Magdalen,

Tlicraa, saw how Magdalen, together with iivo other women
And two men, were placed on a ship without sail* or rudder and. *et
adrift on the sea, destined to Inevitable death. A storm arose,
and Theresa became filled whh terror ax she saw how [lie vessel
wa. s tossed about* Then, the vision ending for the moment* Res!
[her pet name] who liad been sitting In the middle of the sofk, leans
backward, l ather N.iber suggested iliat site lie dov.ii. Perhaps
because she was still vividly aware of what she had seen, she
imagined that Father Nabcr had ordered her to be thrown into the
water. She protested* to the amusement of those present : tf No,
no, not in the water ! I don': want to lie in die water ! " Site
was quieted by the words of (he pastor and the otltci-s, and by the
realization at length that all was wclL Then, in answer to our
questioning, she told what had taken place, and since the expresses
herself *ju 1 thinks and feds as ji child when she is in the stale of
prepossession [presumably Qutottd da FJnpitammtm ciVw}, it was not
astonishing that she biokc olT suddenly and turned with a tnbr-
thievoui smile to Father Hard, the curcne, to speak about his
approaching iinmrd i iv celebradon. . * . In the midst of till*Jovial,
trivial interlude she became rapt into ecstasy again, 1

Later on she saw “ the cave ,p [no doubt the ntfair hattmc^ where,
according to the legend, St. Mary Magdalen spent long years of
penance and died)* 1 Slit peeped " through a hole" into die
" room o-tii of atone " mid saw Magdalen, a very old woman,
hover in ecstasy above the ground; then her body sank to earth
and her son! soared with the Redeemer to heaven* After this
Theresa, t peaking as a little child, began a conversation with our
Saviour* 11 She betted Him to give her the 1 little room " that

1 All lM* a tliif MCTOiit'e of an cye-wlmcii, * pdar, wlto unt ibe MRiui^i to
Hitter *Cn Laijw

1 It cm hardly be ueusury to point cm thit 1 ihr it^rv n f ihe vms^f of
SS. Marj' Magdalen, Unru^ Martha inri oihm, anut (he Mrtfiirrnafun,
rtrul of lire lofiff finance of ihr fin i limned irt ihe juoejV hni^ n nww tGmfJrteJv
dixiulild. Inc authorilabvc Catholic work of rcfireUH, die Laikam fdr
Thnfogit iouf KinAt, which £• edited by Dr. MiehiwH Buehbergtr, Bishop of

k^rft.UsTV. and rorwequemfy 1 hmsj Xeum&ttiA own Bkiirp. ii'jfxri's thriven*!

at Jl aiiogcdter uahUitseieal,^ Vol VI (1934), p. qq*.

11 4 PftYTICAt. PHENOMENA Ul MYSTICISM

Mary Magdalen'*, wHjd docs nol need it any more. It would
wit lift fl heresa exactly. Then r was water u> wash on«dt To
be nine, one would have to gtt a stove, a tahfe and a bed, etc.*'
And the witness asure* us that he would not tire “ listening for
hour^i to tills childlike prattle/ 1 Tlie entrance to the cave seemed
not to have been very broad, " She said * Mother could not get
in\ and when a&cd why, he hesitated I cm die offend the
reverence due to her parent- Then she answered, “ She is too
plump/ " Neither could another priest present get In, “ he wm
too tall/ r bm " a very thin onc/ J indicating KapLut Fahsd, " he
might squeeze through/*

En dir- case oi I Irtckl Neumann flbscn'CR are unaaimoiu in
alTirming that another form of dissociation mutt alfo be recognized.
l hey call it die £wl<ttid 4 rr trk$b mm Ruhe (state of exalted repose).
In lim condition a voice speaking through her Ups replied to a
uiuMion put to her by ito less a personage than her confessor:
"Them [dn] cunst not Apeak to Rea] now, she is asleep '* This
utterance and the use of the second ptnou singular astonished the
good priest considerably, loi the normal Theresa wa* always very
respectful iti her form of n:! jits, fiu! in 11 exulted repose 11 the
words spoken -ire very few: they are amhoritatwe in Lcuie and
set:m m cuumate from a. personality distinct from Theresa hersdf. 1
E rm the voice says 14 this afternoon .ll four o'clock hrr nulfering
will begin/' or 'die will have a vtijjrj© this evening at eight/ 13
H hr], she returns to her normal stare Theresa reifcembers nothing
Of what her lip have spoken in exalted repose. Some ofher moti
anktit champ ions, f.g., Pferrer Xaher, Kaplan Fahsd and the late
Dr. Gcrlich, have nctiMlIy drawn the inference that ihe words
spoken in this -iatc are the word* of Jeans t /hrist Ihm^Jf; but [hey
surely cannot know how common U is in these c.-^cs of dissociation
for one personality to trait any oilier personality appearing in the
same subject as anuclhing entirely remote ami external in fart„
as a different being. Dr. R Osgood Mason, commenting on two
such cases, remarks:

In neither of the cases described had the primary self any know¬
ledge of the second personality except from the report of others or
Irtiefi fmm (he second self, ... the second personality, on the

y*V aJ "" *}>? ipOktfB ift gped Cemuti whrmn ibr a ' TWw M m.

vjmalJy tiBci dial*« l c~- fcmJn Cornu Uiouiri, , e c^;j p Ua JHC

^Z2£7.£Z:’^‘SHS: ep ,Wi ' ;

JTUiUATA

Other hand, in each case, knew of ihr primary self, but on|' : .is
another pemnn—ntvtra* forming a part of r or in any way belonging
to* ibrir own perwmalitle * 1

I have been led to embark upon this little disquisition by a
biography T have lately coin? across which purports lo recount the
hutevy of a Spaniel; nun, the Venerable Mother Beatrice Mary of
Jesus, Abbess of a convent of Poor Clares of the strict observance*
in the dry of Granada. The book must have rent a considerable
sum in produce* for it is a small folio printed in double columns,
muiiing to over 500 pascs and adorned with & portrait. 1 Phis
rutrralive recounts the spiritual experiences of a religion* who*
however holy and supernaluraUy gifted she nay have been*
exhibited throughout ait her early tile the most pronounced symp-
tomi of hysteria. Beatrice* bom in 1630* was the daughter of Don
Lurenco dc Enciso y Navai etur, a rami of good pudtion and a vry
devout fLuholie- Cp iu ihc aye of thirty-five she lived at home
with her parents as a Francbrun lerthury, belt in siVGy she was
accepted as a postulant by a convent uf Poor Clares and eventually
became Abbess, The udc-pagc of tire biography describes her as
11 Venerable," but I cannot iind any evidence that the cause was
proceeded with and ilnit she was at any time Ircaiificd* She died
in 1 ;o-i, and as the facts which Father Tliomas de Montalvo has
pul on record profess In be derived fmm the depositions of the
wilnesiea who gave evidence in the informative process lie gun with
a view to her conun Nation, it is dear that this testimony' must
leave been taken within a few years of her death* Dales arr
entered dtroughom the biography with a display of exactitude
winch points to the use of some contemporary journal kept by her
confessors or her fellow religious* Of her mystical phenomena a
ward may be said later, but the one incident bi the Life which
specially caught my attention in glancing dtrough its paces is u
dissociation of consciousness closely similar to that recorded of
Costanre Maria Cascrec*.

On March t, th<>5, before nht: entered the convent, after ex¬
periencing certain ecstasies of rather on usual duration, she, at the

1 Sr^ Myq-n, ftu.Tjn S^srv&itf, VoJ. i, p. bo; and MiicMJ, Mtiud hyebott\ zj,

p, 119, ett,

* Hit title of the volume, KMntrwh.il ibbxCTttted, mill in ihoc (rrmii Vida

prtiJitiQia dr /a Ftfgpi j Mxdr* Stf Bait? 1; . 1 /jwm b Jf .-m. AiaiL -t

| if' Cd'Trmta dtl Ampt Cuifaffo Jr tn Ciudad 4 i finauda* T||f mUtier 'Via Friar
Thomas n.Ef MoriuJvo, of ihe AkiUtxffac reform, acul the tkm* w,n print ed at
Crasu'U it» 17*3.

TTCE PiivsjnAL nONOaOMA OF MVJmf'rnf

age of thiny-three, fdl, we are told, into an extraordinary condition
in which *he exhibited all the external characteristics of a Jit tic d\Hd
of Lhree or four years old. Her language, her manner of speedi,
her Conduct, movements* and the expression of her feature*, were
titewe which w. is Id be expected of a little girl still in the nursery.
She knew the inmates of the household by their faces, but could
voi give them names* This state had only lasted four days when
liie Proviso]/' or Vicar-Genrr.il, a man welt known to her family
and appointed by the Archbishop to investigate this curious case,
came to see her. "Finding her talking like a child, he com¬
manded het in virtue of holy obedience lo resume the natural use
of her reason with all the pawm God had given her, because he
had to speak to her of mat tax which concerned the direction of
her stmt Hardly had he given the order when her whole coun¬
tenance changed, and it at once became manifest from tfee gravity
of her expression that she had returned to her normal state." The
Pfovisor spoke to her seriously and directed her to go to Confeyion
and Communion. Tliis she promised to do and ivas, in fact,
enabled W do next morning. But no sooner hod the Pnsvisor left
the house than Beatrice had a fit {pinarismo} and when she recovered
from it the child personality returned* This puerile condition,
widi slight interruptions, lusted for ten days. 1 She was not ill and
worn about the house amusing her parents and her sister* very
much by her mistakes and her childish replies to their questions.
She was sometimes gloomy, sometimes boiitcrouaiy cheerful, but in
Cither case without any apparent cause. When, at the aid of ten
days, this young woman of thirty-three came to herself again after
the occurrence of another fu, a notable melancholy and taciturnity
Menu t« have settled down upon her. From an early age the had
been subject to ecstasies or trances, which sometimes lasted a whole
,J: 1 v - S1 ir *t» *' ■ at frequent intervu h fro m paralytic seizures -

sometimes the right tide waa affected, sometimes the left, any small
shock being sufficient to transfer the hemiplegia from one ride to
the other. We bear more than once of uncontrollable and ptr-
siitent vomitings which the doctors were powerless to relieve- She
was, no doubt, always abstemious nnd mortified in her diet, but
there were also occasions when to plcaj-e her mother or her con
fessor rite wished to eat but was physically incapable of swallowing
anything. So pronounced were her hyperesthaiai, nearly always as-
seriated with some quaint but dominant idea or moral wrongful no*
tlut wc find recorded in her Ufu such an incident aa the following!

1 t ktl pradif mju J r la \faJrt Iit£ir±*> pp, 11 ^- 4 .

STIOitATA

«?

During die time when she was living at home, her brother fdl
ilh ’rhis was in Lent, tint the doctors considered it ticecssary
for iiis health that he should eat meat- A joint was accordingly
cooked, hut unfortunately the smell of the roast llcsh reached the
nostrils of his sister Beatrice, and she w r aa thereupon seized with so
terrible a convulsion anti loathing that they thought she would
have died on the spot . 1

No pathologist, l fancy, would hesitate to pronounce that we
are here in presence of an almost typical ease of conversion-hysteria
and it was complicated, as nearly always happens with mystic* of
this class, by all sorts of diabolical infestation* of the " gruppin *’
order which beset the unfortunate victim at frequent interval *. 1
Nevertheless* though ihc seemed to lie continually at death’s door,
Beatrice's life was prolonged to what was in those days accounted
the good old age of reveniy years. Lei it also be remembered that
the story is certainly not a mere romance. This folio* written less
don seventeen yean after her death, was based upon the sworn
evidence of wttn«ses F and was published m the expense of the city
of Granada where all her life had been passed. She w as evidently
regarded as a sort of spiritual asset, reflecting glory upon her
birthplace. There was nothing m prompt any panegyrist to
invent such an incident si that of the secondary personality which
reduced Beatrice for ten days to the mental condition of a little
child. On the other hand* the simitar experience of Costante
Maria Castrren at Fabriano, in Central Italy, could not have been
known to the biographer of Beatrice in the south of Spain.* Both
these holy women, though they led die most austere lives and
eventually came to rule over the convents which they had entered,
presented almost every symptom of pronounced b Valeria.

Was it a consequence of the hysteria or, in despite of this psycho
physical condition, that they abo exhibited remarkable phenomena
of the mystical order? For those of Mother Goat ante Maria I must
refer to my previous chapter, hut a few words may here be old
concerning die " charismata " which the Spanish biographer dutm*

1 M Dtr Ida el olnr tic aqurl aiuiienEn If muluma tale* Ojkcuu t Enl^ai y coonjil
q«e « juxpq X let ipjedissr imtcrui mitt In manot," « hid., p, 115,. Qa mlinr
occtjioTD «hc bt the power of speech for days together* ibid., p. 3V).

$ Urid., pp. 385-4; p. 146, elc.

1 Cmtante W4i l;i>rn In ifiTOj died in 173ft, and ht-t bit- wtu rmh puhlbbcd in
1745. Nentrira wai IjOtti in 163*. died in 170^. hekI her Life pp;*-sr«I in 1719,
i>n line inhet luiuJ, though both in * *rnie betangfd Iti the fatuity tsf St. Fraum,
wtf rep men led diffrteiU brantbtt t)l ihc Order, Demrlee Wiei. j Poor Oarf,
Gnuntc a Capoehiuea.

M 6 THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA Of MYSTICISM

fr>r Mother Beatrice. It will lie sufficient to touch on her stigmata,
her akstentiou from food and her levitations. With regard to the
first of these, Beatrice, though she greatly desired to have the pain
of Our Lord's wounds, is said to have prayed that no external
marks might be perceptible for fear that they would attract notice
to herself. In accord with tliis, on certain feasts of each year, lhe
had intense suffering in her hands, feet and side, without any
external indication which betrayed her condition. But there were
exceptions. While still living at home, on Friday, May 30, 1664,
after her crucifixion agony of three hours, she was wounded by
Sl Francis with a dart which pierced her heart. As she was still
unconscious, Iter mother and sisters, who suspected from a gesture
of hers that something hail happened to her side, undressed her
and found a crescent-shaped wound on her left breast. The con¬
fessor came and saw it, and the Provisor, the representative of the
Archbishop, was also summoned, but by the time he got there
there was no longer a trace of any such wound. .After this a short
ecstasy followed; the mother was led to examine her daughter's
breast again, and found the wound as it was before. Once more
the Provisor was called to War testimony and he and a number of
other ecclesiastics of high standing definitely bore witness to what
tlirir eyes had clearly seen. 1 This inspection, we arc told, was
renewed on two subsequent occasions with the same satisfactory
result. Moreover, there were other later instances when marks
were perceptible in her feet and hands.

Further, we learn that among Beatrice’s many fasts, one whirh
she observed from November 3rd to December 25th of the year
1664, before she entered convent walls, was rigorously tested.
During these fifty-one days she ate nothing at all, but on four or
five occasions when she was consumed by one of those interior
conflagrations 2 which were occasionally characteristic of her ecstatic
state, d»r took a draught of water. To submit the matter to the
control of reliable witnesses, she was lodged for a month in the
home of Don Iftigo de Acevedo, a judicial functionary, M Alcalde
del Crimen de la Real Chancillcria de Granada,” and her good
faith waj thereby triumphantly vindicated.*

Of her levitations I will only say that her fellow-Religious des¬
cribe her as kneeling for long periods raised a few' inches above die

* Vvt* p.

* Thr*r conflftfrnnara ore described with some detail 00 pp. 40-.* -m-n

Ashes («ca'| arc ihca said to have come from her body ( J). ' * ' ' '

* Ad , p. 91.

CTir.WATA

ri 9

ground, but in wdi t wav that her habit and cloak prevented the
onlooker £ram noticing that she was not really in contact with the
earth. The truth, however, was betrayed by the fact that the
slightest breath of air tunned her to sway in this directum or that,
just as tf site were a feather qr die leaf of a tree. If one of the
nuns got up from her place and fell the chapel a little swiftly, she
was moved like a straw by the draught thus created* 1 There were
a number of other analogous physical phenomena recorded of
Mother Beatrice, and with these also an inexplicable knowledge
of distant events and of the future. How fer these claims were
justified no investigator at this distance of time can now hope to
decide.

But to come back to the qu cub-in of double or multiple per¬
sonality, it is curious that, in the case bodi of myttka and of
hysterical patients in general, tills liability to dissociation of con-
sciousrtrsa seems often to be combined with abnormal gifts of
prevision anti clairvoyance, or with some other strange type ot
phenomenon. If 1 mention Mol lie Kancher in particular, ilvat is
because her case ri u> Ijc deoil with in these pans ; but quite a
number of hystcricals, such as Lurancy Vcimum, Anna VVinsor, or
Doris Fuller, offer problems very difficult tn explain on the bans of
natural causation* And why, again, should to many of them be
afflicted with an Inability tu eat, to speak, or to use normal sight?
Paralysis alio and catalepsy are often wry prcm m mint'd. Theresa
Neumann was paralysed for six years, in addition to blindness and
loss of hear in;:* Qwt&ntr Matin and Beatrice suffered frequently,
even if intermittently, from the same disabilities. Mjo llic Fnnchcr,
during mote than twenty years, was unable to leave her bed, having
mj use of one amt, and having her 3rg doubled beneath her. Of
Anna Winsor we arc told that among her constantly recurring
spasms 1 ail th^ muscles of ill"- body and limbs were rigid except
liaise of die right amt. 1 ' 3 llierc b, it setmi to me, much still to
be learn I about morbid psychology before we can safely ralW of the
supernatural In caw where a dissociation of eomclousncts is cither
indicated or apprehended.

1 J>. j(Dj. IV «tnf ttrttigt o^i"i3l.il.rsru nr ro OrrJnJ ol Mjri* Compel

Agnria, mhI ijf the "Tyrol™ aiitioi puracmea Itacltsc*?! i

1 Ihth l.icty read m iho with b ri >3 ctg*c4 and tabling her boot upside
down Stir rranincd Utiilsle to jpeak Tlic nine liftb, nod it iLitnJ t*f her
'■ It ii iwwiiv -1 Wfcla imcr » L tr li*i rm'*HrrwH.’* .Scr Mycxi. Hmt ton Pm*
VoL I, pp. 35:,1 Xp

CONCLUmOM AlK>L~r SnCMATA

The role of Devil's Advocate is a thankless one and do« not
make for popularity, Indeed, I may confess that, when writing
Mmewlui iri thp character of a doubting Thomas, I have felt at
tstnr^, in spite of good intention*, that J was even playing mi
and unworthy part. Why, I have asked myself, should a'sceptical
line of argument lie put forward which may possibly trouble the
4 implr Ihiih of many good people much nearer and dearer to God
than I can ever hope 10 he > And yet in these days of widespread
education, ujivcrsal questioning and free diKuninn, a premature
anti ill-grounded credulity Cannot m the long run be of advantage
to the Church, The Christian hiu to he able to justify hh beliefs,
and adequate equipment for an encounter with rationalists or
agnostics requires some previous study both of the position which
if is intended to take up and of tlic form of attack to which ihai
position may be exposed. Catholic apologetic must always be
based at least in part on the reality of miracle*. Any attempt to
explain away the prater miracle* of our Lord* or to deny ihc
possibility dial line mirac le may be wrought even in our own day*
would be incompatible with an honest acceptance ofihe Church’s
teaching. Bm, on the other hand, when new and remarkable
mantfesiuiiuns are reported trt connection with people of con-
ipicucumly holy life, their, is often a tendency fo ncthim them
will tout further ado as if they must neertsarily \k of lupcmamral
origin. It u quite possible, of course, that ai faith weakens and
science di semen marvel* previously undreamed of, Cod in His
good providence may have wilted to come to die rescue of our
unbelief and may multiply evidence to prove that His arm is not
shortened But in accepting such phenomena as a reinforcement
of ihe mi !taa usJmdi prudence enjoins That we must make sure of
oui ground. We h.iv. to meet adversaries w ho of late years have
paid a vast amount of attention lo the study of psychopathology,
and ervrn a very slender acquaintance with the literature of hys¬
teria and other nervous disorders suffices to show how extensive is
tlic vista of possibUide' which has been opened up* and also how

HKMiTA

191

great Air. the perplexities vdtfi Mritfdi the whole jubject h beset.

In the periodical Etudti Onmditaim$ for 1933 much space was
devoted 10 the ease of Theresa Neumann, Among other contribu¬
tions an article of Dr, ft, van der Ehl roncerned itself specially
With the stigmata, giving less prominence to the attendant mani¬
festations {media* xenoglossia, luercgaosu, etc/h * f It will be
much to the point/' this writer said, “ to consider the stigmata by
themselves, because the stigmata are evidently the principal fact
round which all the other* turn. The stigmatization is the central
phenomenon, which the others may complicate, but which is itself
capable of explaining all the neat," Without necessarily agreeing
with this dictum, it alfords a convenient basis for orderly treatment,
and it is plain that we must take things one at a time.

On the other hand, I venture to urge that to obtain a juit view
we cannot possibly di&cux* Theresa Neumann's stomata as If hm
were the only case known in history. There have b«n literally
hundreds of other cases/ regarding some fifty of which we are
fufty informed, although the rest arc inadequately recorded. It is
die neglect of kindred examples which strikes me as the weak
point ct nearly all that has been written about die stigmatica of
Kanncrsreuth. Reference i* occasionally made to a few well-
known mystics who have exhibited similar phenomena—to Anne
Catherine Emmerich, for example, to Louise lasteau or to Gemma
Galgnnii but what is to be said about the stigmatizations of the
lame external character occurring in other persons tn whom we
find them associated with much that is strange and disconcerting ?
None of the writers who treat of Theresa Neumann in accord with
ihe views of the Konnersicutli Ki ck take any notice of such people
U5 Marie-J11 lie Jahermy, P.dum d’Qria, Ja Modre Coataot^ Juliana
U tlskircher, Gcor gn Marasco, etc. It is the occurrence In these
cases of a pronounced type of cpnvcrBon hysteria " which con¬
stitutes to my mind the real difficulty of the problem.

1 EtitdaCarmiUM ntr, Oct |{hi, pp T B7-114; this periodical appear* only twice
■ year, Uctohrr am! April- itf, Van drr Kin it nho Lhe author of the ' irtlcJf

Sugiihiiri " in the J ¥ Apoi#giiitpit.

1 Dr. Imbert.Goiirbcyre’t book L* SiifimiiUaihn {9 veb-. 1894), while h b
moat u±rfu] a* Uw ftiilrti osllectiup rf eno, ti imiaiinjj hoili hom 1 u centre tuck
jfmttertaJ rntxltiii and from it* preterm on to comtituie a complete rfod,
Un chic 1111 ttcl it include* a viut numhrr v.f cara in whkh ihr pain of the
Wwmda wa* find to have l>eni felt but in which there were no crtrraaj nwia;
on ihc other it *ay* nothing of many writ-attested example* erf blcrehiLg trigtnata
which. t™ 4ytliuf k raacirrlica Ilav-t mnxd, Above ill it fall* to realise thfll 5here
are : numbers. of balances whkb pan unbred outside the wail* of cbe dbiatcr to
which they oettuv

133 TlfE PHYUCAL PfTENOiflKKA OF MYSTIC ISS*

Ii 1 propose Then to set down here certain doubts which surest
themselves concerning: the supernatural character of stigmata ui
general, lint 15 nut became I entatain any fiingi'i'inp aj to ihc
fads rerouted of Theresa Neumann s phenomena or as to the holy
hie which she Leads, but simply because in die liimuire accessible
to me 3 Hi ill uq indication that i licit* difficuliici have been taken
iiit i.r account. The difficulties are not conclusive arguments, ,ind
tlity may quite possibly have an adequate answer; but on the
surface ihtfy seem to me to point 10 the cotidusion ihai stigniuti
don may be the result of what 1 wflj v enture it> call a ‘ crucifixion
complex ,J working itself out in subjects whose abnormal suggesti-
bility may be inferred from the unmistakable symptoms uf hysteria
which they 3 i-wJ previously exhibited.

And fim of all wr have the striking fact ihm not a single case
of stigmatization was heard of before the beginning of the thirteenth
century. Ni. Podner, however, was the extiaurdliUiry phenomenon
Which marked the last days of die seraphic Si. Frauds published
throughout the world, than oilier unquestionable eases of stigmata
began to occur .untotig quite simple people and have continued Id
occur without intermission ever mice. What 1 infer is that the
example of St, Francis created what I have called the crucifixion
complex- " Oner it had l>eeu brought home to contem pin lives
1 hat it wun possible to lie physically conformed to the sufferings of
Christ by hearing Efbi wound-marks in hands, feet and side* then
[hr idea • I this form of union with their Divine X-f aster took shape
in the; ntfntld of many, it became in Fact a pious obsession; so
much so dua in a few exceptionally sensitive individuals the idea
conceived in the mind was realised in die flesh.

If the suggestion just made were well-founded, we should expect
to find that the exterioruation of the ^ crucifixion complex " would
vary much in degree according to the suggestibiliiy of the particular
subject. But this is in feet what actually happens* It a note*
worthy that in a good many case* the development never goes any
futsbrr than a certain deep reddening *r the sltin or the formation
of something resembling a blood-blister in the site of each of the

STIGMATA

I2'i

wounds* 1 It Lfl equally noteworthy that the form and position of
these wounds of markings vary greatly* In some iiwtiinct ^ the
woimd in the side is on the right, in otliers on the left. Sometimes
have a round puncture* sometimes a straight cm* sometimes a
rresccht-shaped wound. When Gemma GolgimS showed in her
bwly die murks of the scourging, marks which bled profusely, we
ate tnld that these wounds closely corresponded in d.?c and in
position with tire wound* depicted in a big crucifix before which
she was accustomed to pray. 1 When Anne Catherine Emmerich
was first marked with a cross on her breast* it is stated thll \Uh
was u Y-shaped cross, reproducing the f um of a midlix at Confdd
to which shr had great devotion in liei chfldhcxd,. 1 Ail these
fl mgs -+■ f-:: 1 ! 1 Mini to Sfl auto-suggested eflc( i ru th ft Uniii r.* the
opera 1 ion of an external cause whatever its nature*

Again, although the war of [9*4-18 showed m that hysteria is
not* a* was once supposed, an exclusively feminine disorder, still
ii remaini: true that at normal times, and especially under the
conditions in which girls were formerly brought up, women were
and are much more subject to hysterical fits than men. Now,
while iii the course of I he last seven centuries there have been an
immense number of female mystics about whose complete stignm-
uzfttinn no doubt U possible* there sue only two quite clear cases
of men being externally tnaxked with all the five wound*. 1 Merc-
over* even here we have no evidence of periodic bleeding on suc¬
cessive Fridays, such as is common in female stigma tics. The
natural inference would seem to lie dial wfiat predisposes to the
reception of die stigmata is not unusual virtue* hut some form of
nervous susceptibility* more often met with hi wum« than in mem

^ Sc^* f-'F ;■, i 3 p- cut of Silly Beatrice Hr Ihjj tsars h <]f I'fnjTltirehrrl

<who ditd Ul 1887, flJ rrcxjnird in Her UTe [Dot rtrfotgmt Lm iwt* rtr_, 1014)
by vi . M±Jrr. Sbr had lUtil marki few ovej thirty year*, hut they did not hWH
An early riiinipte of |hr same Vuul Wii itwi ofFinm* Krn^xh of Mec hlilt [ f r |7i(h
and a quite recent one that of Mniy Ajpu-i Strlntlr ufK imhi,

* *** I'atlirr Gtrmmut, T\t Lift ofGtmw; 1 fwi'jiau l luiu?. Train-]* p. 60*

1 Sfhindgn’, I-ifr if A. C, Efirnwruh Tram,), I p,

* l>f, tmbrtMjO ur bc y re enumerate man y ehji]- lioi [his it due to

lbo fact that he itidudD all u Jm are said to jur; idfcrd the p*rn «f die wmind*
■hough they bam bo external rmuks. and abo mmit 1*iai air suppuinl to lt«n*
been uipiUJ if) one or two mnnbeii alroie. Sc frauds o. r Aeujj and Padre fio
ofToggia, however* at'' ecimpEtt i>f Cutiipirte tUgmitiiatiacL.

124 TH* PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OP MYSTICISM

The physically vigorous saints, such as St. Vincent of Paul, St.
Francis Xavier, the great mystic St. John of the Cross, St. Alphonsu*
Liguori, St. Paul of the Cross, St. Franco of Sales, St. Philip Ncri,
St. John Baptist Vianncy, and countless others were not favoured
with the stigmata, in spite of the devotion to our Lord’s Passion
and the intense desire of suffering conspicuous in all of them. But
not a few devout women who have never been beatified and whose
history points to a certain extravagance of sensibility, have been
thus honoured and have periodically enacted the scenes of the
Passion, with bleeding from all the five wounds.

So far as records arc preserved concerning the early history of
stigmatized persons I venture to say that there is hardly a single
case in which there is not evidence of the previous existence of a
complication of nervout disorders before the srigmata developed,
riiat docs not mean that the person thus (searing the marks of
Christ’s Pas lion was otherwise dun good and even saintly from the
very beginning. It is simply a question of the pathological
conditions. I have called attention elsewhere to the health
record in dieir early years of Gemma Galgani and of the Syrian
Carmelite, Sister Mary of Jesus Crucified. Let me illustrate my
point now by a reference to a very much earlier case, that of
the nun Lukardis at Obcrwcimar, 1 who is said to have been
stigmatized for twenty-eight yean, dying on 22nd March, 1309,
less than a hundred years after St. Francis of Assisi. Her l>i<>
grapher was a contemporary who knew her personally, and the
modem Bollandists who have edited the Life pronounce the narra¬
tive to be fully worthy of ctedit. We are told that, having entered
a Cistercian convent when only a child, Lukardis, still in her teens,
was made infirmarian for half a year, and then fell lU. She lost
all power of grasping things with her hands. She could not even
hold a stick to support herself witlu “ She had all the pains of
the stone, of quartan and tertian fevers, and she frequently fainted
away.” The doctors could make nothing of her ^ •• fa

she seemed, as it were, to be beaten in each hand, so that her
fingers, knocking against each other, resounded like castanets.”
Most unmistakable of all, we are told that ” when she was lying

1 Sec thr account of her ctigmatn on pp. 41-3, 60-3.

stigmata

**5

in bed there were occasions when her feet became rooted under¬
neath her and her head sank down, while her stomach and chest
were thrust upwards, so that she made a sort of arch of herself
with a sharp curvature.” This is surely a remarkable description
of the opisthonic spasm well known in hospitals for nervous dis¬
orders. She was paralysed and bed-ridden for eleven yean; but
while she had the use of her limbs, it is stated that ” the servant
of God, sometimes in the day-time, sometimes at night, started
running with such headlong speed dtat the most vigorous of men
could not have kept it up without getting exhausted. At one time
she ran round and round, at another straight on . .. when she had
not space to run she came into violent collision with the wall.
There were also occasions when lying down she spun round for a
long time like a joint roasting before the fire.” 1 Perhaps the most
extraordinary feature of all, one which I hold it impossible for the
biograplicr to have invented, is the allegation that for a consider¬
able space of time she used to stand upon her head, or more
precisely upon her head and shoulder, with her feet in the air, but
nevertheless with her dress clinging to her legs as if it had been
tighdy sewn to them. It certainly would be hard to maintain that
Lukardu was a quite normal person either before she received the
stigmata or afterwards.

Another case of a stigmatica with pronounced hysterica] symp¬
toms is dtat of la Madrc Costante (Anna Maria Castrcca). She
died (a.d. 1736) in the odour of sanctity as Abbess of an austere
community of Capuchin nuns, but in her early life, both as a girl
in the world and as a young religious, she exhibited every
characteristic of this form of malady. She had paralysis, and
anorexias and vomitings, as well as amnesias and fugues. 3 When
a novice of over twenty years of age, a dissociated personality
suddenly emerged, and for several months together Anna Maria
pratded away like a child of five and had to begin to learn the
alphabet over again. Further, we are told how, in the presence
of all the nuns, she would fall down in a fit marked with the most
horrible spasms and contortions, ” her neck twisted awry and her
leg bending the wrong way, so that sometimes the point of her
foot touched the abdomen.”*

* The fiJa Vtnrrabtlit Lukardu has been printed from the only known MS. in
the AkiUcU vol. avlii (1899}, pp. 310-67. The details mentioned

above will be found on pp. 312-13.

' Bull, V r tia dtUa Madrt CosUnU kfaru Outrun (1745), p. 35.

ia6 the khtogai. piknohena at wytticum

No doubt $ucb attacks as those jnsi described occur independently
■>l ihc Stigmatization and for the most part are antecedent to it,
but they belong tor the atmosphere, anti one »b whether God can
havr chosen inch a setting for a miracle to manifest His glory.
Iu the cue of Lukaidb it is stnpwble to determine exactly the
Ut dti of events, but this at trail we know, that the good nun whilst
•til] bedridden, when the Friday ecstasy came on, fined, in a state
of rigid catalepsy, to stretch n«I licr arms as if she here being
crucified. ami to pul one foot ovei the other. After eleven yean
she suddenly recovered from her paralym and could dim rtand
and walk. In future the cataleptic seizure on Fridays catne upon
b« when she was erect, and we are told that each time JVir somc-
thing like three hours she stood Upon one foot, but otherwise
unsupported, with her amis stretched out horizontally from the
shouklrfs and with the second foot pressed tightly upon the instep
of the first. During Lent she stood thus every day, but the stigmata
only bled on Fridays, 1

In the case of other uigmatieos wp read of scenes hardly leys
steuuge. mizalictJi of Her ken rode £^275), in enacting the scenes
of the Fasnon, her stigmata bleeding the while, used to pull herself
by the hair and beat her head against the ground over and over
L^uisi. Also, when tying on her back at these sedirim in j. Vitale of
unconsciousness—-whether we call ft ecsijsy or trance—die used to
rain blows upon her breast with extraordinary force and violence 1
Nearly rix hundred yean huer Dr. Dei Cloche, a devout Catholic,
wlto printed a medical report upon the case of Domenica Lar/urf
tdh us haw “ with lightly clasped Jtgmdb she often showered blows
upon Iter breast with intense violence, so that the noise was past
belief , . . Tiir gnashing of her teeth was continuous and to
bud that it might Ik compared to the noise of a furious and
hungry dog gnawing a bone, or U* the grinding of an enormous
fib applied by vigorous arms to a bar of iron/' 1 None the less,
Domenica, like Theresa Neumann, maintained an absolute fast from
food and drink* It began m 1854 and lasted to her death iu 1848
When on one occ;iiion the doctor persuaded her to allow , j^U
frpgnjcnt of sugar to be placed upon her tongue, she at oner fiid a

J Itiwifj ftitfjnifojjw, voL mm, pp -j'47-0,

a See (hr fkJlamiat Cuak-gitc of the IlngioErnphLaU *JS$ r of Bnmch vol I

3TQ. ' **

• See lb Amuiii Ufiktftidi & .IWurm. vol (1837), pp.

fTTOMATA

197

fit which continued for twenty minutes, in the course of which the
spasm of vomiting was so violent that she almost choked. Even
the smell of a piece of toast brought about a contortion of all the
muscles of her face and for a short time she fainted away. Was
not this simply hysteria, or are we to regard it a* a supernatural
manifestation of God’s almighty power ? The bleeding of the
wounds in Domeniea's case was almost continuous on Fridays.
No one has ever suggested that she was otherwise than a good and
devout woman. She was bedridden, she sought no publicity, she
accepted no presents, and I for one find it impossible to believe that
the devil can have been allowed for all those long years to deceive
priests and people by a counterfeit holiness.

Yet another difficulty offers itself in connection with the ** revela¬
tions " of sudi stigmnticas as A. C. Emmerich and Theresa Neu¬
mann. In both cases we have not only visions of our Lord’s Passion,
but also of the sufferings of the saints—for example, of the martyr¬
dom of St, Catherine of Alexandria. Now in thu instance both the
visionaries simply reproduce the traditional legend. They recount
the public debate between Catherine and the fifty philosophers,
most of whom are converted and then perish as martyrs in the
flames, the bursting of the wheel by which she was to have been
put to death, finally her decapitation and the flowing of blood and
milk from her neck.* Similarly Theresa Neumann secs Lazarus,
Mary Magdalen, Martha and others put into a boat without sails
or rudder, but nevertheless traversing the Mediterranean in safety
and landing in the south of France, where Mary Magdalen hides
herself in a cave anti lives for another thirty years before death
comes to release her.* Both these legends are, on the best of
grounds, rejected by modem hagiographer* as pure romance, but
Theresa Neumann sees them in her visions, exactly, no doubt, as
Pfarrcr Xaber pictures them to himself in accord with the story
current in popular lives of the saints. Have we any ground for
supposing that Theresa’s descriptions of the Passion, which conflict
in many points with other revelations—e.g. with those of St-
Bridgct of Sweden—arc more veridical than those of earlier

1 Grrtkh, Dit Stigtn*tiiintr Tknnr AVuri.cm, vr4. I p. 973; Schmogrr. Lift of
A. C. Emnnieh {Eng. Tnuu.), vol. II, p. 53ft.

1 Grrlich, pp.

128

THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OP WmCt5M

mystics ? And if she may be deceived here, can we put trust in her
pronouncements regarding relics and oilier matters as if she were
speaking in the n a me of our Lord Himself ?

VII

Lastly, I venture to lay some stress upon the resemblance
between Theresa Neumann’s different phases of consciousness and
those cases of multiple personality which recent study of abnormal
psychology has made familiar. We find that when Theresa
( Red ) is in the state of exalted repose ” (£uitand der trkobmm
Ruhr) a voice speaking through her lips may reply to a questioner:
'* Thou {da) canst not speak to Real now, she is asleep,” or “ This
afternoon at four o’clock she will enter on the Passion.” What
intelligence is it which thus makes answer and utters prophecies
about the future which are regularly verified ? Kaplan Falisel 1
and Dr. Ccrlich* do not hesitate to maintain that it is Christ our
Lord w ho speaks. But surely anyone who has studied, for example,
the Doris Fisher case of multiple penonaiitv, so competently
observed and expounded by Dr. Walter Franklin Prince, must
pause before accepting this conclusion. When Doris was to all
appearance at the very point of death " a voice suddenly issued
from her lips, though no other feature moved: * You must get her
out of this; she is in danger *; and then * lliake her harder; hurry,
hurry ! ’ ” Psychologists are satisfied that this voice was only that
of another personality of the real Doris, a personality which aftcr-
wards came to be known as “ Sleeping Margaret.” 1 I can see no
reason to suppose that the spoken words uttered by Theresa in the
state of exalted repose come from any other source than a dis¬
sociated personality of Theresa herself. One might be more in¬
clined to doubt if it w ere not perfectly plain that a second dissociated
pCTionality comes into play in the so-called ** state of absorption ”

( £u<land da Erngmommensrins), when, a» we know, Theresa speaks
like a little child of five might speak, when she cannot understand
what the word Pope means, and instead of announcing that she
sees six people, says one anti one and one, etc., six times.

1 Fshtrl, Kmmrrtfnthi Tat s&kn mnJ GtJ&tXm (1932), pp. 71—9.

quoted by Dam Mager in EtuJti CatrMUeintx, April,

* The cose it reported at great length in the PrKsnfuw1 tkt

f» Pijxhvtl RmjManh, wds. IX, X. andXI. ^ J ^

STIGMATA

129

These are some of the doubts which suggest themselves in con¬
nexion with the alleged supernatural character of the stigmatization
phenomena. Let me repeat that I quite recognise that an answer
may be forthcoming, but it seems to roe a pity that little has been
said on these matters in such big books as those of Gerlich and de
Hovre; not to speak of the many minor publications and articles
in which the case of Theresa Neumann has been discussed. There
are some other points upon which I should have lilted to dwell if
space had admitted. The intense desire of L.ukardis to have the
marks of our Saviour’s Passion imprinted on her own members, a
desire which led her even to seek to bore holes in her hands and
feet by gesture and act, is a very striking fact; for this preceded by
a long time the actual development of the stigmata. There is
much that is beautiful in the vision which attended the gratification
of her longings. Hysterical though she was, no one can read the
account without realising that she was a deeply religious woman.
And it is noteworthy that she was greatly revered by her fellow
religious and that both in life and after her death she was believed
to work many miracles. Finally, let me observe that, so far as
regards Theresa Neumann, doubts similar to those here expressed
have been strongly urged in other quarters. 1 An article by Father
E. Raitz von Frcntz, S.J., in the Revue d'Ascilique el dt Mystique for
April 1933, is especially worthy of notice.

f For further and Later conclusion) un this case, *e* pp. 304-8

CHAPTER III

TOKENS OF ESPOUSAL

C LOSELY akin in some respects to the phenomenon of
stigmatization, but in other features very different, the
spontaneous appearance of a miraculous ring upon the
finger of certain virgins of holy life is not unfrequently mentioned
in hagiographical records. In nearly all such cases the outward
manifestation is preceded by an ecstasy in which the soul thus
favoured believes herself to have gone through some form nf mystic
espousal with Christ our Saviour. This last experience is one
which is met with repeatedly in the lives of holy women, but we
do not by any means always hear that the ceremony left behind it
any permanent or physical token of its occurrence. Even when
some abiding memorial of this union remains, it b very often purely
subjective; just as happens in the case of many stigmatized persons,
who feel the pain of the wounds, even though no outward sign
appears of the cause of these sufferings. The l>est known example
of an invisible espousal ring b that of St. Catherine of Siena. In
the year 1367, so her biographers tell us. the Saint had a vision in
which she saw our Saviour with Hb Blessed Mother, Sl John the
Evangelist, St. Paul, and St. Dominic. Our Lord addressed her
and made known Hb intention of “ espousing her soul to Him in
faith.'* Thereupon our Lady took Catherine's right hand and
held it out to her Sou, and He placed on the ring-finger a ring of
gold which was set with four pearb and a diamond. Then the
vision disappeared, but the ring, though invisible to all other eyes
but her own, remained upon her finger. Raymond of Capua, her
confessor and biographer, tells us how “ She many times admitted
to me. though with bashfulness, that she always saw that ring on
her finger, and that there never was a time when *hc did not
perceive it." Furthermore, a curious statement b made in a
manuscript which !>donged to the Carthusians of Pontignano,
where St. Catherine's ring-fuigcr was kept as a relic, to the effect
that sundry devout persons, in venerating the relic, saw the ring
upon it, though generally speaking the ring was invisible to all* *

• AASS.. April, VoL III. p. 891.

TOKEN* OF ESPOUSAL

* 3 *

Perhaps the best way of setting about the investigation before us
will lie to start with an account of two cases of mystic espousals of
comparatively recent date. For both of these I am indebted to
the work of Dr. Imbm-Gourbcyre, 1 and although, as 1 have
previously explained, the writer referred to is utterly wanting in
the critical faculty, still his good faith is beyond question. When
he is merely reporting the words of others or describing what he
has seen with his own eyes, his statements may be received with
every confidence. The first whom he mentions of die two modern
recipients of this favour is C^Iestinc Fcnouil, bom at Manosque
(Bosses AJpcs) in 1849. She received the stigmata, it appears, at
the age of seventeen, and three years later was marked with the
crown of thorns. In 1874 took place her mystical espousals with
Jans Christ, and on this occasion she is believed to have received
a ring From Him. Eye-witnesses described it to Dr. Irnbcrt-
Gourbcyre as fallows:

It b a vivid red line encircling the finger, with tiny crosses
occurring at intervals. The bezel represents a heart pierced with
three swords. I lib ring show’s much more conspicuously on Sun¬
days, when it shines with extraordinary brilliance. It is not
formed of little dots of blood adhering to the skin, but it is just a
red mark, probably accompanied with a thickening of the epi¬
dermis.*

One might fee! some doubt as to the accuracy of this account,
were it not that confirmation b forthcoming from a paper con¬
tributed to a medical journal, the Annalti dr Dermatologit* The
writer, a local physician named Dauvergnc, had seen Cdestinc on
some few occasions after she had received the stigmata, but as there
was much talk and prejudice in the neighbourhood, the mother
had raised an objection against further visits. None the less, Dr.
Dauvergnc, in the medical study referred to, remarks:

Witnesses whose trustworthiness I cannot question assure me
that recently, since I last saw the patient, a sort of ring with a
bezel develops on her ring-finger every Sunday. The ring then
disappears, only to manifest itself again at the same fixed day and
hour, w'ithout changing the day or interfering with the appearance

1 La Sticnatuatufa, VoL II, pp. 1 14-7. CX pp. G6-7.

* Imbcrt-Gurobryrr. II, p. 114. Hr states tluu thia account wxi mt him in
1870.

* I have, unfortunately, had no areas to »h>« journal: 1 hove to copy
tbe extract* given by Go uri wyrr .

1^2 THE PHYSICAL PllEXOMENA or UVsnr:i‘M

of the ordinary wounds on Fridays. . . . What pathogenic*!
Influence can we invoke to explain this new phenomenon ? Is it
a girl's fantasy to which her thoughts persistently cling ? And yet
she is a simple cliild whose mind is fixed upon the Host and the
ciborium. Why, in that case, does not the picture of one of these
develop upon her breast P Or must we believe that Jesus Christ
has chosen to mark out His chosen spouse in this way ? Imagina¬
tion and science become lost in inextricable confusion when we
study manifestations of this son.

In the case of Ctiicstine Fenouil, Dr. Imbcri-Gourbeyre -was
unable to verify die facts for himself, but in dial of Marie-Julie
Jaheuny, of whose stigmata we have already spoken, every facility
was afforded him for personal inspection. Marie-Julie, then about
twenty-three years old, exhibited in successive stages the various
phenomena of stigmatization, beginning in March 1873. These
were crowned in the February of the following year by the appear¬
ance of a mystical ring, ii., a hoop of vivid red encircling the
ring-finger of her right hand. After four years* interval tliis
appearance was further enhanced by die addition of three black
points in die place where the bezel of the ring would naturally be
looked for; but at a somewhat later date the circlet was trans¬
formed into a pattern of dots and dailies, a facsimile of which is
also given by Dr. Imbcrt-Gourbeyre (La Stigmatisation, II, p. 86).
The first appearance of die ring was formally made known to
Marie-Julie some time beforehand, and when in ecstasy die spoke
of these forthcoming mystic espousals and declared that witnesses
ought to be present when they occurred. The actual day was
named (February 20, 1874), and Dr. Gourbeyre explains Uiat he
had in his pcosession a letter from her confessor, die Abb£ David,
written in January and definitely announcing this date. On
Friday, February aodi, everything occurred os had been foretold,
and two days afterwards, says Dr. Gourbeyre, I received the
following letter:

God be praised. Yesterday we had the most consoling day
imaginable. Everything previously foretold has been realized.

In accordance with the directions of Monseigneur (the Bi*hop ; I
had made arrangements beforehand. There were fourteen men
there to act as witnesses, seven from Blain, one from Gambon, two
from Givrc, three from Nantes sent from die Cadiedral, and* one
from La Framlais [the hamlet in which Marie-Julie resided]. At

TOKENS or espousal

*33

half-past eight wc had satis fied ourselves dust the wounds were
quite dry, that the ring-finger of the right luvnd was in a healthy
state, pale as death without any trace of a ring. At tune o'clock
all the wounds [the stigmata] began to bleed. At about a quarter
past we perceived that the finger was becoming swollen and
reddening under the skin. About a quarter to ten blood was
running from the upper and lower surface of the finger, and by
degrees we saw the ring Lake shape. It is now clearly marked for
all her life to come. . . . Monsdgncur is full of enthusiasm. 4

Dr. Imbcrt-Gourbeyre, writing in 1894, remarks: " Marie-
Julie's ring remains to the present day. I saw it again in October
1891, still a ring made in the fleshy tissues (tourjours fait dans Us
<htnn), like a hoop of red coral which had sunk into the skin."

With this definite evidence before us of the reality of such
happenings in modem times, it becomes difficult to reject as mere
fable a score of similar incidents wliiclt arc described in hagio-
graphical records of earlier date. Among die more noteworthy of
these is die series of mystic espousals recounted in the Life of Sl
V eronica Giuliani. We have her own narrative of these events,
mo.u reluctantly written down by her on various occasions in
deference to the commands of her confessors and other
superiors. She herself describes the espousals as begun on Easter
Day, 1 ith April, 1694, an d several times renewed, and she is also
our authority for a change in the form and fashion of the rings
which she received in these visions from the hand of our Saviour.*
What interests us most here, however, is not the Saint's impressions
of what she herself saw, but rather what was seem by others after
die ecstasy had passed and she had returned to her normal state.
Ordinarily it would seem that nothing was perceptible, but there
are at the same time two quite definite pieces of testimony given
under oath by her fellow religious in the process of canonization.
Sister Mary Spanaciani deposed that on one occasion site, when a
novice, had seen the ring quite disdnedy.

It encircled her ring-finger exactly as ordinary rings do. On
the outside there appeared to be a raised stone, as large as a pea,
and of a red colour, which inspired me with fear and veneration,
as is usual when we sec anything supernatural or miraculous.
Several times I was on the point of asking her what it was, but

1 Ibid. p. 116.

* fry example Pinicaria, Un Tncro tfitxmjU, assia Diarit S. Vavnua
Guihaiu, Vol. I. p. 545, note. Cf. pp. *58, 369, 389.

*34 the physical phenomena or mysticism

I never ventured to do so; and meantime, the countenance of
the servant of God was glowing and radiant, though die were
in a sort of rapture, and this proved to be the case, for though
I asked her various questions, she never answered to the point.
It was, however, remarkable that a few hours after, though I
looked at her hand carefully, there was no ring or jewel there;
and now that it had disappeared, she was herself again and able
in give connected replies to tny enquiries. 1

Still more valuable is the testimony of the holy nun, Florida
Ccoli, a confidant of the Saint, and herself a candidate for beatifi¬
cation. According to her account also, the ring was not ordinarily
visible, but became perceptible at times. Suor Florida had been
ordered by Father Tassmari and Father Crivclii to keep a look out
for any such manifestations.

I know, as I have also licaril from our confessors, that this
servant uf God was espoused by Our Lord and I have been fre¬
quently desired by our authorities to ascertain if there was any
outward sign of the Ring or Espousals. Five or six times in Padre
Tassinari's time she came to my cell to let me examine the finger
of her right hand which would wear the ring and at other timrs I
made the examination in hrr cell. Every time I felt her finger
just where a ring would be and I felt quite distinctly a small circle
which was under the outer skin and I could also sec that there was
a mark round her finger like a vein in size and colour but quite
hard.

VVIien Padre Crivclii was here, he sent for me one day to the
confessional when Suor Veronica was there and told me to feel her
finger very carefully and tell him what 1 found. This I did, telling
him that I could feel the circle quite plainly. 1 rcmeml>cr once, I
was talking to her and I suddenly nodeed the circle on her finger
and said without dunking, “ Oh Gesu, what have you dotie to
your finger f " 1 then remembered what had already happened

and taking her hand, I said, “ Have you had this fresh grace from
Out Lard and you have not told me ? " She drew her hand away
and hid it, blushing and saying, “Just think, if it b true.”

I noticed another time that just where the precious stone would
be in a ring, there was a small lump like a gem, white and yellow
in colour, about the sire of a small beau. This lasted some days.
Our Lord renewed these Espousals and gave her sometimes the

* Salvatori, L\Jt if S. Vmmua Gutlum, Oraiorian Series, Em;, tram. p. 109.

TOKENS OF ESPOUSAL

>35

ring she called the Ring of Love, at other times what the called the
Ring of the Cross. By this latter she was warned of her sufferings.
All this I saw myself and notified to the various directors. 1

Of the good faith of this extremely scrupulous and truthful Sister
there can be no possible doubt, and as her testimony is in clcnc
agreement with much other evidence of the same kind, we are
fairly justified in believing in die objective validity of the fact thus
attested concordantly by sight and touch.

But probably the most interesting of all the cases of mystic
espousals accompanied by physical and external phenomena is that
of Sl Catherine de’ Ricci. All the evidence is accessible in the
primed Pontic tufur Virtutibui, of which a copy may be found in the
British Museum Library. The Promoter of the Faith, at the time
when the cause was brought before the Congregation of Rites, was
the famous Prosper Lambertiui, even better known afterwards as
Pope Benedict XIV. The question of St. Catherine's ring attracted
his particular attention, and he made several criticisms which were
replied to in detail by the Peculator of the Cause. Sl Catherine,
it should lie noted, was born in 1522 and died in 1589. Unfor¬
tunately it was only in 1614 that the first juridical examination of
wiinesjes took place in connection with the cause of beatification.
As the ring had originally become manifest in April 1542, it was
practically impossible duit any oTthe nuns who had formed part
of the community when diis wonder first occurred could be living
to give evidence in 1614, seventy-two years afterwards. But the
phenomenon showed itself at least intermitlendy throughout
Catherine's life, and apart from written and second-hand testi¬
mony, some few witnesses were able to give evidence of what they
themselves had seen. A few brief notes upon this, apparently
somewhat conflicting, evidence may not be unacceptable.

Sister Dorothea Vecchi, aged eighty-three, deposed that she had
herself seen the ring, and she described it as having a hoop of gold,
but in the place of the bezel a protuberance in the flesh of the finger.

Sister Mary Magdalen Ricasoli, aged sixty-eight, had seen the
ring twice, once when a child—but of this occasion she remembered
little or nothing—the second time after the Saint’s death. Then
when the body wav lying before the altar she clearly saw, and
continued to see until the body was buried, a livid mark (un Undo)
round the index finger of the left hand.

1 Evidence of the Abbes*. Florida Ceoli, at the nroc e a a of canonisation:
Swmmtrvtm dt virtutihu , p. t66, f 58.

ig6 THR PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF MYSTICISM

Donna Isabella dc’ Bonsignori. aged fifty, saw the hand of the
Saint one day at the gate of the convent, not long before her death.
There was a ring on the index finger of the left hand—at least it
had the form of a ring, but it appeared to her entirely of flesh
raised up like a ridge. The Saint, noticing that her eyes were
fixed on the ring, at once hid her hand again under her scapular,
where she usually kept it.

Sister Angela Arrighetti, aged fifty-eight, once saw an extra¬
ordinary radiance coming from one finger of the Saint's hand
when she chanced to raise it in prayer in die Oratory. The
splendour so dazzled her that she could not see what sort of a ring
it was.

Donna Dianora, wife of Paul dc Salts, aged sixty, saw it two
years before Catherine's death. She saw it when the Saint chanced
to rest her left hand on the grille. It was a ring of gold, very
dazzling, and she could not help asking herself what ring this could
be, but she thought that perliaps prioresses and superiors wore such
a ring.

Sister Elizabeth Dardinelli, aged sixty-seven, had seen a red
circle round the ring finger.

Sister Serafina Baroncini, aged seventy-seven, saw the ring when
a girl before she entered die Order. It was under her eyes for half
an hour when she had been sent into die Scriptorium, and
Catherine took her by the hand. It was a gold ring widi a brilliant
white stone, “ so that 1 could sec myself reflected in it” (cJu io mi
sptuhaw deatro).

Sister Frances Serafina Strozzi, aged forty-three, S3W the ring as
a child. It was a fold of the flesh of the finger in the shape of a ring.

This practically exhausts the list of witnesses dt rim. From an
evidential point of view, however, the two most valuable testi¬
monies produced in the canonization process were written docu¬
ments. The one was a copy of a letter written by Father Thomas
Ncri, a Dominican, in 1549. The other an excerpt from certain
notes upon the life of Catherine, which had been compiled by
Sister Mary Magdalen Strozzi, her privileged companion and
nurse in illness. Father Ncri had evidently been much impressed
by the account he liad obtained of the wonderful manifestations of
which Catherine was the subject, and his letter was penned in quite
early days, forty yean before Catherine’s death and seven yean
after the mystic nuptials first took place. He repeats in some
detail the story of Catherine’s vision, going into such particulars
as these:

TOKENS OF ESPOUSAL

*37

Then Jesus took from His left hand and from the finger next to
the little finger a ring as described above (viz., a gold ring adorned
with a magnificent diamond and enamelled in red), and while the
Queen of Heaven continued to hold Catherine's hand Jesus Christ
placed this most beautiful ring upon the finger which is called the
index, next to the long finger of her left hand, saying, '* I give thee
this in token that thou shah always remain my spouse and in token
that thou shall never be led astray by the tempter in anything,”
and He added, ” Now thou art my bride indeed.” Then Jesus
kissed her on the mouth, and Our Lady in the same spot and
moment did likewise, and Catherine, excusing herself to Jesus that
she had no words to thank Him as her heart desired, only said,
” My Lord I thank Thee that Thou hast deigned to take this
wretched creature for Thy Bride.”

Tire details, however, which particularly interest us in our
present inquiry arc those set out in the following passage. It
should be remembered that the espousals took place during an
ecstasy on Easter Sunday:

Within a fortnight of Easter, the true ring, that is to say the ring
of gold with its diamond, was seen by three very holy sisters at
different lima, each of them being over forty-five years of age.
One was Sister Potentiana of Florence, the second Sister Mary
Magdalen of Prato [this was Mary Magdalen Strozzi, who left the
manuscript account of her beloved Mother Catherine], tlie third
Sister Aurelia of Florence, so the Superiors of our Province have
ascertained.

A command was laid upon this holy virgin (Catherine; by her
superior to ask a favour of Jesus Christ; and by Him the favour
was granted that all the sisters saw the ring, or at least a counterfeit
presentment of it, in this sense, that for three days continuously,
ty. the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Easter week, all the
sisters beheld on the finger beside the long finger of the left hand,
and in the place where she said the ring was, a red lozenge ( quaJrttto)
to represent the stone or diamond, and similarly they saw a red
circlet around the finger in place of die ring, which lozenge and
circlet Catherine averred she had never seen in the same way as
the sitters, because she always beheld the ring of gold and enamel
with its diamond. Also the ring was seen in this way as a reddening
of the flesh diroughout the whole of Ascension Day : 542, and also
10

138 THE PHYXJCAi. PHENOMENA OP MYSTICmi

011 the day of Corpus Christi, when it was accompanied by* a most
wonderful perfume which was perceived by all. 1

Father Ncri also goes on to remark that this reddening of the
finger could not liave been due to any paint or dye, for on Corpus
Christi day*, as he relates, Catherine was brought into the church
that the Governor of the city might see this wonderful red circlet.
But all traces of it disappeared in his presence, though immediately
afterward* it showed itself again to the nuns.

Regarding Father Ncri’s statement that three of the elder nuns
were privileged to see the real ring of gold and red enamel, it is
curious that no confirmation of this seems to be found in Sister
Mary Magdalen Struzzi’s own notes, though she is one of thr three
Sisters mentioned. \V)iat she does make perfectly clear is dial for
three day's aftet Easter die re was a red circle round Cadicrine's
finger, which she describes as a ring ** between skin and skin,”*
corresponding closely to what Dr. Imbcrt-Gourbeyrc tells of Marie-
Julie riiat her finger looked as if a red coral ring had been buried
in the flesh. Again, Sister Mary Magdalen's notes give n curiously
touching impression of lier vdidtude lest Catherine had become the
dupe of some wile of the devil. She went to die confessor about
it. and together they made experiments with cinnabar and other
pigments, but they found they could produce nothing in die least
like the reddening 011 Catherine’s finger. Then Sister Mary
Magdalen went to Catherine herself, and seems frankly to have
told her doubts and scruples. These abnormal manifestations, she
urged, were contrary to the spirit and traditions of the convent
and were very’ dangerous to humility and to that desire for self-
effacement which was so important in the religious life. Catherine
agreed, and was delighted to let her do anything she pleased in
order to get rid of the mark. She only blamed herself and begged
their pardon for being the cause of so much trouble and disquiet
of mind among the test of the community. So Sister Mary
Magdalen put the fmger into her mouth to find if the red mark
had any taste, and also left it to steep in water, and then tried to
wash out the mark with soap—all, of course, without any effect.
On die other hand, Catherine declared quite simply tliat she saw
on her finger a gold ring set with a pointed diamond, and could

1 S. Ca*g. Rtiwm, P*>U*» ntf*r KrfttAfau. .ttnmnmi, p. 352. C£ Rtumrin oi
munadmtimati, p 79.

'"U apparr nr (la maun manra nrl dito imlicc un cirtolo rtmo fra pcile r
peik ch e pareva it veto audio r drcoiwlava tutto il dito e nrlla m^ t TP u ailjnrava
a uao <11 pictra quadrat*." — Pntetu, p. 193. B

TOKENS Of EJrOL'iAI.

*39

see nothing else. 44 1 have to take it on tailh,** she said to her
friend, " when you tell me that you simply perceive a red mark.’* 1
The fact that St. Catherine continually saw the ring and its stone
with her bodily eyes ami could not sec the circle of red is also
definitely mentioned in the letter of Father Neri in 1549.

The facts arc very puzzling. There is apparently overwhelming
evidence that at certain times the marks of a red circle and lozenge
showed themselves on Catherine's finger in a way that could be
perceived by all. It also appears to he certain that she always
with her bodily eyes saw on that finger a gold ring set with a
diamond, but 1 cannot feel satisfied (hat the testimony recorded is
sufficient to establish the Cact that the golden ring was really seen
by any others beside hcnelf. There arc so many well-attested
instances of a supernatural radiance shining from the faces, hands
anti garments of mystics when rapt in ecstasy that we may readily
agree that this is likely to liave tiappened in the case of Catherine's
finger. If so, casual witnesses may very well have persuaded
themselves that in the midst of this radiance tliey discerned the
gold ring and the diamond of which they had previously heard
mention. It can only be said that the evidence is not sufficient to
allow us to come to a definite conclusion.

The various other recorded examples of mystical espousal rings
seem to be of much the same character.* In the case of the
Venerable Giovanna Maria della Croce (Beniardine Floriani),
Abbess of the Poor Clares of Rovcredo, who had received from
our Saviour in 1644 an espousal ring with five diamonds, there was
nothing which appeared outwardly to attract the attention of the
observers. But one of her most devoted subjects. Sister Ursula,
who often found a pretext for kissing the hand of this venerated
superior, experienced in doing so an intense spiritual emotion.
Moreover, when her lips came in contact with the ring-finger she
noticed a roughness suggestive of the points of a hoop of gems.
She made some comment on this strange fact to the Mother her-

* Catherine utid to Siller Man Magdalen: “ PerdoniUe tui. Mad/? mix,
*nc«r‘ to h* X rw n itare la virtu dr-lb fed?; chft voi dite chr ms mlrlc *1 dito
tin ciecoto ruuo, r liitoena che io ve lo (rods; perche to non lo vrggio in cotesto
usodn, ms vqjho un hel diamante Input in ortx"—Proem, Mtimmiriwn, pp,
*9!r«.

• St Colette (’1381-14^7) had s ring presented to her and placed on her firu^r
by St. John Use hvangetot on itrhalf <rf Our Jxud xi s token of etprxtui. This
rine war Jeuu haMr; Iter coo&stor Frtrr dr Vaux, win* trlh ihr Kory uf the ring
in the Life which he wrote erf h»i pcuitcut. travelled lo Rome with it m hit keeping.
Otltrn handled it. and the golihmitht tried hi v ain to join other uictals to it.
Cf. .4.4. SS. Mar VoL I, pp. 3546, htol).

* 4 ° TH® PHWTfTAl. PIPES OMEN A OF WVfTtCdtM

-iclf. but Giwajwift at once irnpo-rd silence ripen her, and would
never afterwards allow her to kiss her hand, It seems, however,,
that the news spread to other members or the community** A
certain Siltef Franco, with the connivance of the confessor, tried
to put a ring on that pan ini tar finger, hut found that it waff
impossible to push It beyond the second joint. The attempt was
renewed after GiovanmA daub, but the bsx ofthe fjbgmr was *o
swollen that, even when a targe ring was med, it was impossible
to press it home. 1

In the case of Marina de Escobar, who also i? said, during the
course of An ecstasy, to have received a ring of espousals from our
Lonh the ring was so plain to her bodily eyes that she coveted her
band with a doth to hide it from hendf Thu vivid a fit! sensible
realization of its presence, however, tasted but a few day*, and
that it was only setn by her occasionally and at intervals.
No other person beside herself is known to have beheld it. 1

Finally, a brief reference may be made to the ring of Cblumba
Schoria lit in 1763, Here we are told that a material ring showed
itself, which was of . red colour. The Dominican E'revmcial is
said m have seen it radiant with light on the middle finger nf her
Irfi hand* It is ridded ihul he washed it with water and tried to
cut it with a knife, but could not make urn of whai material it
was. 1 However, all these details, k must be confessed, do not
rerm to rest on very satisfactory evidence.

, - Urt ;: r ' 1 Mb* JitKlr.&fiirit dr ta OoMf, fimrh trams.,

y* u ™ f f> Vr-iti Atwtitlnt it U Infuk!, J jrr.-i £M '.fate
iMidrid.

*J- tht hfxhbgm%di£tr (Jrdmst&tinlwf Cntimid ClSSv). m>. isS-sm The
«ary »houl Ihe Pr D v«iri^f a !3on the IdliruOay of CtAumh*’* uodr, wbodtcUrrd
that hf it frotn the TWvj/in^l at [he min’.

CHAPTER IV

TELEKINESIS

I T b not the purpose of thb book to propound any theory as to
the origin or nature of the phenomena discussed, or even to
defend their supernatural character. My service b simply that
of a bureau dt consultation, to sift good evidence from bad, to separate
the grain from the chaff. My contention, however, b that in the
mystical state things really happen which are not reconcilable with
nature’s laws as commonly understood, and further that there b
better publbhed evidence of such occurrences in our hagiographical
records than any which has yet been produced by Spiritualists.
From this point of view it is desirable to insbt upon the point that
the Church has never pronounced that the suspension, for example,
of a man’s body in the air b a miraculous fact which can be
admitted as a proof of his sanctity. As the Promotor Fidei urges in
one of the brarifu arion processes to which we ihall have occasion
to refer, “ these alleged charismata and supernatural favours are
common to good and bad alike, and they cannot be accepted as
validating an otherwise defective proof of virtuous life and conduct .'* 1
Telekincsb b a convenient term introduced of late years in the
discussion of psychic phenomena, and b defined by the Oxford
Englnh Dictionary as " movement of or in a body, alleged to occur
at a distance from, and without material connexion with, the
motive cause or agent." The word has been used in a rather
wider and vaguer sense by some writers, by F. W» Myen in
his Human Personality, but the particular type of phenomenon which
I propose to illustrate here comes striedy under thb definition. It
is the alleged transference of the Host through the air by some
unexplained agency from the altar or the hands of the officiating
priest to the lips of the expectant communicant.

It hardly needs saying that the evidence for such occurrences
requires to be carefully scrutinized; for while on the one hand it
would undoubtedly be rash to reject a priori the possibility of
marvels of thb description, it is certain on the other that fraud
and hysterical delusion have often availed themselves of similar

* .■ininta^rerriai’ti of the Pnmottr Fl’Ui, Ludovicui de VaJcnnbui, in the cause
of the Veil. Soar DomcaiaitUl !‘ir«dno (1735), PP- l - ®.

142 THE PJIYSlIAl. PHENOMENA OP MYSTICISM

rnsnifatatiotM to establish a very ill-deserved reputation for holiness.
The notorious Magdalena de la Cm* (1487-1560), a nun who for
many years was venerated as a saint throughout the Spanish
peninsula—so much so tliat dir was invited u> bless tlic christening
robes prepared for the infant prince, afterwards Philip II—was not
oidy believed to have the stigmata, to live without food except the
Blessed Sacrament, and to be raised in the air during some of her
ecstasies, but it was also asserted that she received Holy Communion
miraculously. More than once, we arc told, when the number of
particles in die riboriurn had been carefully counted, one was
found to be missing when the priest next inspected them and mean¬
while Magdalena had exhibited a host on her tongue which had
come to lier no one knew how. A closely analogous deception or
illusion was charged against, and apparently confessed by, the
other 1 umily less famous Spanish pscudo-mystic, Maria de la
Visitation, during the reign of Pliilip II. In both these cases the
Inquisition eventually intervened, and inflicted a severe penance
on the culprits. Nearer our own time ts the sensation caused by
the '* miraculous ” communions of Palma Matarrclli d’Oria. It
seems certain that Pius IX, after reading die reports submitted to
him by the Congregation of the Holy Office, was convinced that
all the Eucharistic phenomena were fraudulent. " What Palma is
doing," he told Mgr. Barbicr de Montault, " is the work of die
devil, and her pretended miraculous Communions with hosts Liken
from St. Peter’s are a pure piece of trickery. It is all imposture
nml I have the proofs there in the drawer of my bureau. She has
befooled a whole crowd of pious and credulous souk" Certainly
the account given by Dr. Imliert-Gourbeyre in his book, Us
Shfimalissfcs, of Palma’s Communion in the middle of a conversation
which she was holding with him and Canon de Angclis, is of itself
calculated to arouse vcliemenl suspicion of fraudulent practices.

I was sitting sideways to Palma talking to the Canon who was
opposite me when l felt her hand gently tap me on the forearm.
At the same instant the Cuion fell upon his knees. I turned to
luok at Palma, and I saw her eyes shut, her hands joined, her mouth
wide open, and on her tongue 1 perceived a host. I kneel down at
once, l adore, and I watch her. Palma puts out her tongue still
further as if she wus bent on making me see the host clearly, then
she swallows it, shuts her tnoudi, and remains profoundly recollected
in her chair. 1

1 ImHm-Ckfurbryre, Lu St»gautiu*t, VoL II. p, 13.

TEJJa.fc!NE*iJ

*43

There seem to have hern a good many ca&o in which public
attention lia? been directed to alleged rnmilfesladonj of this sort
and in which the Holy See, combining in former limes botlt civil
and religious authority, has inflicted severe punishment upon those
within the States of the Church who were found after inquiry to
have imposed upon ihe credulity of the faithful by pretended
mimdcs. In the Annals {Jnsvefjdli di Medizina for 1847 1 there is
mention of a certain Viuotia Bloodi who in the time of Pope
Benedict XIV pretended to have received the stigmata, to have
continued for a long period without taking food and to have been
co nuu unit' a ted supernatural! 1 . , A raid, it appears, wns made by
the authorities and in her room they found a number nf small
1 km 1* carefully secreted which ihe used artfully to place upon her
tongue, alleging that she had received Communion fmm an ortgd,
T be culprit, after full con Cession of her impostures, was admitted to
mercy and leniently dealt with, hut a kiimal statement of the oJXerxes
with which she was charged and of the sentence passed upon her was
made public under the heading 14 Xotificazioue di affrttnla SuntM/ 1

We cannot do better than begin owr examination of the tatter
known casts by tiling the testimony of ihe saintly Cure of An, a
man whose veracity and good Tadth will hardly appear doubtful to
even the mod (ietermSned sceptic. In one of Jiii public catccliisru
ihe good Curd, m his biographer notes, ddivfrttj Himself as fallows
on the subjec t of the real presence:

Two Protestant mini .ter* cami* here the other day who dis¬
believed out Lord's leal presence in the Sacrament. 1

said to 1 hem, " &> you beUtrve thM a piece uT bread could detach
i’.-elf ami, of Its own accord, place itself upon die longue of a
person who was approaching to receive k ? " H Xu.” " t hen
this is no 1 bread/' A man had doubts about the real presence.
Hc said to himself, What do we know about it ? ft is no* certain.
What is chc Comer rn Lion , J What takes place upon the Altar at
that time f Bui he desired to believe, and he prayed ro the
Slewed Virgin to obtain tile gift of faith for him. Now Intro well
to wFiut I am going n> Leli you, 1 do not say that it hoppeoeti
mmtwbrTr or otfor, bun I 1 ,ty that it happened to me. When that
num presented himndf to receive Holy Communiort, the Sacred
Hbst detached lew If from my fingen while 1 wo* vci a good distance
From him, and went and placed Itself upon the tongue of that man. 9

1 Vol. t-J. pp- Mt-J-

* Motttlin. Lift <ff tht CW 4 'Aft, Vot. II, p- 3^4.

*44 the physical phenomena or Mvrnrmi

Two centuries earlier we find that another famous French priest,
hardly less universally venerated for his holiness, had had a similar
experience. In the year 1637.1638 Monsieur Olicr the founder
of Saint Sulpice, spent some months at Names. He had been
seriously ill, and by the invitation of the Rev. Mother took up his
quarters in a gardener’s cottage belonging to the Convent of the
Visitation in that city. Among other members of the community
at that time was a holy nun, Fran^oise-Maddeine de la RoussUre,
a memoir of whom was printed some years bier. In this occurs
the following passage:

Our Lord used to manifest in an unmistakable way the pleasure
He felt in visiting this holy soul. We learned this from many
priests who gave her Communion, amongst others from the late
Abl>< Olicr, who, being in the town and lodging in our little
gardener’s cottage, often said Mass in our dmrch and distributed
Holy Communion to the community. One day he asked our Rev.
Mother, Mire de Bressand, what was the name of one of the sisters
who had a patch of red on her face (it was a mark she had had
from birth); and nftcr hearing the name he remarked that she
must be a very holy soul since the sacred Host had detached itself
from his fingm and had travelled of itself to the mouth of tliat
dear sister. Another ecclesiastic, the Rector of the parish of Nort
who is still bring, said that the nun with the mark on her face was
certainly a saint, and that he believed her to be such because he
^ 5CCU Sacred Host fiy into her mouth when he was giving
her Communion. 1

If is probable that M. Olicr had already had some experience
of similar happenings through his close spiritual friendship with the
Dominican ccstatica, Mother Agnes of Jesus, who, like many
canonized Saints, is believed to have repeatedly received Com¬
munion miraculously from the hands of angels or the Blessed in
Heaven. Seeing that for most of these Communions we have no
other evidence than the percipient’s subjective persuasion that she
had been so favoured, the trustworthiness of which may be ques¬
tioned, 1 do not propose to discuss them here except when
independent confirmation is forthcoming from other sources. But
for one, at least, of Mother Agnes’ miraculous Communions we
have the statement of M. Martinon, Archpriest of Langeac, that
having refused to allow Mother Agnes to communicate at his
* Yit it Mauiear Olm (1653), VoL I, p. 204.

TELEKINESIS

*45

lie leanti from her afterwards that she had been communicated by
an angel, whereupon going to examine the ciborium in which he
distinctly remembered that he luid left lour hosts, he now found
that there were only three. 1 But without dwelling further upon
French examples, let me go back nearly another three centuries to
the famous case of St. Catherine of Siena. Our principal witness
is the Dominican, Blessed Ray murid of Capua, 3 St. Catherine’s
confessor, and afterwards General of the Order. His writings leave
a strong impression of a naturally sober and scrupulously truthful
mind, though, of course, like all other mm of his age, he readily
believed in the interference of the devil and other supernatural
agencies in human affairs. Before, however, we come to the
detailed account he has left of his own experience in connection
with St. Catherine’s Communions, we may note briefly the evidence
of Father Bartholomew Dominic given in the process of canoniza¬
tion.• His account at once recalls the impressions received so
many hundred years later by M. Olicr, the Cur£ d’Ars, and others
to whom we shall have occasion to refer further on. 1 quote from
Mother Francis Raphael's Life of St. Catherine;

Fr. Bartholomew Dominic tells us in his deposition that he
frequently gave her Holy Communion, and that often at the
moment of doing so be felt the Sacred Host agitated, as it were, in
his fingers, and escape from them of Itself. “ This nt first troubled
me,” he says, ** for I feared lest the Sacred Host should fall to the
ground; but It sccmrd to fly into her mouth. Several persons
have told me that the like happened to them when giving her
Holy Communion."*

Not less striking is the following:

I often saw her communicate [says Francesco Malrvolti, another
witness in the process] and always in ecstasy; and I beheld how
when the priest was about to give her the Body of our Lord, before
he had drawn more than a palm’s length near her, the Sacred
Host would depart out of his hands and like an arrow shoot into
the mouth of the holy virgin. A wise man named Anastasius of

1 Lantagei et Latent, lu it la K .V/rrr df*/r dt Jim (tflCj), Vol. If, p. 354.

• He wat beatified by Leo XIII. in 1899.

• Mother I ranch Raphael (A. T. DrancJ almost alone a:non* the biographers
of St Catherine had areas to a copy of the documents of the proem.

• A. T. Drmne, Lift of Si. CmJuriat (Edn. 1913}, II., p. 41.

T11E PIiV«ICM* PHENOMENA OF MYSTlLLifiM

Monte Altinn also look notice of this wonderful cirruiiHtai]i:c and
introduced it into certain rhythmical verses \11 if 11 Jic composed on
thing* appertaining to her which he had heard and personally
seen- 1

Blessed Raymund** own account of Sl Catherine's Communions
is loo long to be translated entire, and even Mother Francis Raphael
does not reproduce the whole of it. SuU it k unfortunate rl^f the
actual terms tn which he narrates the story cannot be given* for
almfRt tvrn sentence unconsciously !*ears witness to his desire to
tell the exact truth and avoir I exaggeration. 7 Ur explains fim of
all bow on one occasion he had i ravelled hack with St, Caihcrinc
from Avignon and had reached Siena r-n St. Mark'* day utterly
worn out with fatigue* It was mil too late in the morning to say
Maa, and «j, in order to gratify her intense desire of receiving
Communion, he put on his vestment* and proceeded Id rd.
the Holy Sacrifice, comecrajdag a small Host br her which lay on
the corporal in front of him- When he turned round to give the
gcntfal absolution before Communion hr saw her free radiant and
transformed wiib light* He was almost overpowered at ijie *pc, _
Uurlt, ami on once more faring towards the altar in order to Like
up the sacred particle he apostrophized It mentally, saying 11 Come
O Lord, to Thy spouse ' 1 11 The thoughtf 1 he goes on, ‘had

lionllv framed iisdfin my mind when, More I touched It, the
Sacred Host, sa I clearly perceived, moved forward of Itself; the
dinance of three inches or more, coming close to the paten which
I was holding in my hand."* Whether It then leaped on to ill*
paten, Raymund lulls us he is unable to say* Ht was too startled
by what be had already observed la mu ice or remember exactly.
But after quoting the words ** God and the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ knowetli and is my witness that I Be pot,” ht repeats
very solemnly* " I know and am certain that I saw the Satra]
Host move of Itself without tltc uitcivemfon of auvoiie and come
towards me," On another occasion, which belongs it appears, u>

1 A. T Onus?', Lift, [[, p t ;h r

tfalbrtunaitfy t luvc no ft£Co« in the anghud of Uiii Jumw, What Mother
RapSuw-l IraiuUta At " 4 More hr hiwJ .5fattu n»n> than □ pjfoV ItttVth
nrmr hrr, 3 rami, F lirinlc, DJCW1 tllflf the parti dr flew Irmn ihe n^»i f. n *
when hJj hand waa tiifl j. n-hil** kltinh Fbsn ur ^Jrvm inches? ftMvfroiu lv r Spi.

Apr.* VclI II, jv 755l>.

* fUytxnmd of Capua in ddJlk,, ,\prD t Y\iL III*, pp r^o,,.

TELEKINESIS

>47

the early period of Blessed Raymund's acquaintance with St.
Catherine, he had been waiting to begin Moss until the Saint, who
was ill, could come to the church. Finally receiving a message
that she was unable to communicate, he concluded that she had
not left her house, and he thereupon offered the Holy Sacrifice
l>clirving t erroneously, that she was not present. She was, how¬
ever, in point of fact, at the extreme etui of the church in a place
in which he could not, or did not, sec her.

After the consecration and the Patrr muter [says Raymundj, I
proceeded according to the rubrics to divide the Host. At the
first fraction, the Sacred Host, instead of separating into two
portions, divided into three, two large and one small, which seemed
to me about the length of a bean but not so wide. This particle
which 1 attentively observed, appealed to fall on live corpora] by
the side of the chalice above which 1 liad broken the Host; 1
clearly saw it descend towards the altar, but I could not afterwards
distinguish it oti the corporal. Presuming that it was the whiteness
of the corporal which prevented my discerning this particle, I broke
off another, and after saying the Agnus Dei, consumed the Sacred
Host. As soon as my right hand was at liberty, 1 felt on the
corporal for the particle on the spot where it liad fallen; but I
found nothing.

Raymond then gives an account of his profound distress of mind
and the fruitless search lie instituted, in the course of which he
examined minutely not only the corporal but every part of the
altar and the floor. As lu: was giving up the quest in despair, he
was interrupted by a visitor, a Carthusian Prior, desirous of having
an immediate interview with St. Catherine. Believing her to be
in her own house, Raymund conducted the Prior thither, and
then for the first time discovered, to his great surprise, that she liad
gone out to church and had not yet returned. Retracing their
steps with all haste, they found the Saint kneeling with some of her
companions at the far end of the building remote from the altar.
St. Catherine was in an ecstasy, but, as the need seemed urgent,
Raymund persuaded her companions to try to rouse her.

They obeyed [lie goes on], and when we were seated with the
Prior I told her my anxiety in a low voice and in few words. She
smiled gently and replied just as if she had known all the parti¬
culars. ** Did you not search for it diligently ? " On my answering
that 1 had done so: " Why then arc you so troubled ? ” she

i 4 8

THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OP MYSTICISM

said, and again the smiled. I already fell more tranquil, and said,
“ Mother. 1 verily Ih-Ucvt that it was you who took that consecrated
particle. Nay, father,’ 1 she replied, “ do not accuse me of
that; it was noi 1 but Anclhtt\ all I can tell you is, you will never
find it again.” Then I pressed her to explain what liatl happened.
” Father,” she said, ” trouble yourself no more about that particle;
I will tell you the truth as to my spiritual father ; it was brought
me by our Divine Lord Himself. My companions urged me not
to communicate this morning in order to avoid certain mutmun.
I was unwilling to be troublesome to anyone, but I had recourse
to our Lord; and He deigned to appear and gave me with His
own sacred hands the particle which you consecrated.” 1

I do not feel that we arc called upon to pronounce any opinion
for or against the correctness of Sl Catherine's impression of the
agency by which Holy Communion was brought her. The point
which concerns us immediately in connection with our present
inquiry is the fact that the sacred particle which disappeared from
the altar was conveyed to and consumed by her. There are so
many instances on record of the same kind of marvel that it would
be difficult, it seems to me, to explain them as the concurrent
hallucinations of two minds wliich happen to be in some kind of
telepathic rapport Let us take one, for example, which was
recorded forty-one years after Catherine’s death, and the scene of
which lay tar away from Siena, in Upper Suabia. Blessed Eliza¬
beth von Rcutc (du gtUr Htu i) was a mystic who died in i 4 20, and
whose Life was written by her confessor, one Konrad KLis’;din,
almost immediately afterwards. He leu us know that Elizabeth
lived with three companions, and that he, when he had said Mass,
u*cd to communicate these and afterwards take the fourth Host to
Elizabeth in her sick room. On one occasion when he had given
the three Communion he set out for the suffering ccstatica’s cell
carrying the remaining particle on the paten. The server went
before, with a candle and a bell, but as he (Konrad) followed he
suddenly missed the Host from the paten in his hand. Retracing
his steps he made a great search but without result, though he was
convinced that he had consecrated four Hosts. Finally, he made
up hi* mind to go to the good Beta herself and tell her or the loss
and of his sorrow and anxiety. When he entered her cell he found

Chap, iuj utgu, i>. p aoi; or iq llie Firm

P - 109.

ooini of view in the Du i/j**
ll»e Frruca traniUiion of Garner, |L

7T1.F.KINEMS

*49

her radiant and wniling. " You laugh," he said to her, " whilst I
am in deep distress." On this she at once replied: u Do not be
troubled any more; our Lord lias already revealed to me that you
fear you have lost the sacred Host. You have not lent It. I must
tell you dial Jesus Christ, my bdoved Spouse, came to me in human
form, preceded by an angel magnificently clad, and that 1 le gave
me the Blessed Sacrament with His own Hand." 1

As the influences which surrounded Elizabeth of Reute were not
Dominican, it does not seem to me likely that at this early date the
incident can have been suggested by the story just related of St.
Catherine of Siena.* No doubt, as previously remarked, we can*
not safely attach any importance to the account given by the nun
of the channel through which the favour was received. The gift
itself was objective and material, the vision was subjective and
spiritual, and no one lays more stress upon the need of caution in
interpreting such apparitions than the great authority on canoniza*
tion, Pope Benedict XIV. But when we liave the conviction of a
preternatural reception of the F.ucharist confirmed by the uinul*
tanrous and unaccountable disappearance of a consecrated Host,
it docs not seem irrational to believe that in some mysterious way
the object of such intense longing and desire may have been
physically transported through the intervening space. Certainly
if telekinesis exists at all upon this earth—and levitation itself is
sometimes reckoned su a particular development of it—it is difficult
to imagine any conditions under which the power of spirit over
matter is more likely to be displayed than in relation to those

* The orium* 1 High-Grrman inn nf the Life it printed in Alrrnmmi*, Vol IX,
«88i. Hut passage occurs on p. 2811. The confessor, I may note. Hoc* not
Uruuir to tsteyrr hr» praltenu ” Ach Eitabrth bchrttu so kb rceht bctrubri
byn ? She, Wrvrr, is vrry rrsjwctful. " Yr wment yr habent mrynro
berrm vexlorru ? Yr hint yn nyt verb urn."

The earliest record of ati alleged miraculous Communion belongs to the ir
of the Fathers, to the period In fart when St. Jerome. Sr. Augustine and St.
Ambrose were still living. Palladium Bishop of Hclettopolis in Bithynia. who
probaWy wrote his ffotaria Lmuiaca about the year 419, has leA u« an account of
,l . «•* * r ‘h u * bow he had had an opportunity for three yean of living in proxi-
miry to St. Macarius the Alexandrian, who waa regarded as a great master of the
•pntual life. Amongst the many other anecdotes which Palladius has preserved
for UK we read :

This holy Macarius fold me the following-fer be was a prirsL " I noticed.”
he said, at the time of distritmting the mysteries (Lt. t the Holy Eucharist)
that tt was nnTf I who gave the oblation to Marrus the ascetic, but an angel
used to take it to him from the altar. I saw only the knuckle rtf the hand
which it to him." (Palladius, Nutoria Lnnjurj, chap. xviiL, | 25.

ALvt A.4.SS, Sept, Vol. VIII, p. qjE.) *

Falladtut serms to have hem a conscientious narrator of whai he taw or heard
at first hand and a piece of evidence of this kind must be allowed full weight.

J 50 tut J»irotEAl or MVmrni

cojisceraied species which already in some way fotiong dumb
tancousjy to the two re alms . of soul and of seme.

Although ihere is a threat family rc«ujibkiii£e between most of
theae Stories, l shall tw excused, l hope, if I quote a few more
illusrrationi. The evidence is not of the highest order- the
dement of rmss-examination, for example, is almost always
wanting—still it is first fomd and good of us kind. Perhaps one
of i lie most interesting, I hough not one of the most satisfactory,
examplo of these udekinetre Cksnittnumons is that pro rated by tile
ease of Suur Domrnica dal Paradise^ a Florentine nun, who died
in 1553’ Almoi! ail that vre know about her is derived either
ditoctJy or indirectly from the manuscripts of Father Francesco
Oiicsli di Castiglione, who was her confessor for something like
half a century* He had known bet, he declared, almost from her
cradle,* and the account f am about to quote was written after he
had been in intimate relations with her for thirty-four yea mi. He
declared thru he bar] prayed for a long tunc that ir the wonderful
things he had recorded concerning the same Sister came from God
and the spirit nj truth, tign mfohx be jcivcn him in that form, viz.,
thn.1 un .sitgel should l ike her Cnmrnnnion from the Eucharist
Which he himself had ootwee: rated. 1 He prayed thus for many
months without any answer to hia prayer* and Irving heart he
began to think he had been guilty of presumption or curiosity.
But one Holy Saturday, when he was singing the Mass,

I was about [hr writes- tb receive the Sacred Host, anti I had It
there upon die paten* when, after repealing die Domitit nc?/i ittm
digtmi, J remembered to utter the petition f usually made to obtain
the sign I desired. Suddenly 1 noticed that a fragment of the
Ho*t the size of a large bean was lying on the paten a good two
inches away from the Host itself, At this 1 Siegan to wonder how
It i ouh! have separated Itself so for, and 1 resolved to take care
not (o lei I t foil 'T the paten, when to! in an instant, I saw the
same fragment upon rny left hand, the ha ml with which \ was
holding die paten It lay upon the back of my thumb ,ir ihe
highest. point between the jutucinre with the hand and the knuckle.
At tills T was much more astonished and so dumbfounded that I
thought no more of the iign I Imd asked for. But whilst I utxxj
gaping, the fragment as if It bail Ijcco matched away by an

1 Aciualiy i he wot about fhlrtj wiien be fifit am? |n krvjvf hdT. J.H.C1

* SuOT Pm!cnijqn.n Zigftonj [f |Gq 8] cklimrd tft have hud Gmummkia brmifht
I.J her fo tb- ntnr chub? ■>! .iBip li 4J1 ntfir vjcinmLte xetkjt qf. |,y y

IHologna 16501, pp, 1 a <> 21

TELEKINESIS

> 5 *

invisible liand disappeared nnd was nowhere to be seen either
there, or on die paten, or on the altar. Not to cause further delay
l consumed the sacred species, but I looked again to see if by some
negligence of mine the fragment had fallen on to the corporal, for
It could not have (alien anywhere else, but ! saw no signs of iu
Much troubled 1 finished die Mass, and after taking off my vest¬
ments and making my duuiksgiving, I let my mind driA hack again
to die subject, being inclined to blame myself for negligence, but
quite sure dint I liad not been either sleepy or distracted. Then
suddenly I remembered the sign I had asked for, and in better
spirits I determined to pay a visit to Sister Domcnica and to find
out if my prayer had been granted. 1 went, and she at last,
joyfully smiling at ray perplexity, made known to me that she had
received the fragment of the Eucharist from her angel guardian os
my messenger (mmrinr two) on that same day and at the very hour
at which 1 was celebrating. 1

It must be admitted iliac dm is not a very convincing story, but
taking the writer’s narrative as a whole he leaves the impression,
for reasons it would take loo long to develop here, of a perfectly
honest witness. On the odicr hand. Sister Duinmica, though die
communications she believed herself to have with celestial beings
are of the most extravagant order, and though her delusions, I
should be inclined to say, are in some cases patent, was nevertheless
devoted to good works, beloved !>y her community and most
austere in her life. She died at the age of eighty, the foundress of
a great convent which maintained its fervour for many generations,
and she was venerated by all as a saint. Her body, which had not
been in any way embalmed, still remained incorrupt nearly sixty
years after her death. It is impossible to believe that with such a
record Suor Domenica could have been a vulgar hypocrite or
impostor. And yet among Father Onesti's other stories concerning
her, we find such a plain and unequivocal statement as this:

When she knelt at ray Mass, ravenous with spiritual hunger, I
often saw the Eucharist in her mouth taken from die Sacrifice
which I had consecrated. This was conveyed u> her by the
ministry of an angel. And this I knew not only from what 1 saw,
but also from the number of the Hosts, for one was mining from
the number which I had counted. 1

1 Ptroccn of beatification of Suor Dmxrmca dal Psradtto. Stermrmn
Retpmasmn, pp» 5-6.

• Ibid., p. 7 mod cf. p. 15,

15- Tits Fli VOCAL RJULVOWtSA OT HVSTItlEBl

Onejti also declares that her fellow-mms who had seen [he fame
thing came to tell him of the fact, also that on ant occasion she put
out her tongue, at the command, as site believed, of the Archangel
Gabriel, to show Canon Beniviem the Hom ihe had fnimculouily
received. 1 Another example 1 of much the tame kind it that of the
Venerable Gertrude Salandri, of whom her anonymous but moat
capable biographer writes as follows:

Being forbidden to communicate oti a certain day, she was
gazing from afar at the Eucharistic table and deploring her mis¬
fortune. As she was unable to partake hi net she sought comfort
in the banquet of desire, when suddenly a particle escaped from
the ribarium, passed of Itself through ihe Comm oni™ window,
and flew straight to Sister Gertrude to gratify her longing. What
her consolation was ! have no words to describe. I only know
that I he nun who was privileged to be the witness of this extra¬
ordinary- prodigy remained so ovens-hrimed with astonishment ond
10 curried away by a Hood of devotion that she ran at once to give
an account uf it to iheir Optiftper and afterwards bore testimony
to die fact upon ettth in the pioc™ of beatification. Neither wa*
this nun Full or fanrie* nor one of commonplace virtue, hnt she was
the great Servant of God, Sister Angela Maria di Cksil, called in
the world Anna Maria Sarnini, uf wives* solid and eminent virtue
we have spoken elsewhere more at large.*

Even more wonderful arc the Eucharistic marvels recorded in

1 B. M. IlQTghjjjhwi, V'*U Mta V. Swr Dmedn rfjJf fVduftro (Finnic ijiq at id

iBdj), ji. jji j.

- > 5 . Li iwinu of LktnrcUm (*1*33 tumnnrircl a print in order ihm he tuicbi
Hive U, l-ft III C omtmtnt ott the Unit which Usd KpjjfamJ u, hrr tn her roarncunl
which wiili the maria of (hr i ivt Wduflili kiu vidhW to .uhm present. The
pri-il Old VI, ihtMJSh h* rcffllttfd liet .ts deluded herein by ihr devil! The
aEtJlUitr of lUe tcmTnf>lUi vn* miter mrn&cin; m him and he Ttiny have acted
■g-^iiHi 111! Ix-ncr jQdynmL See AA.SS. Apr.* Vill It. pp. ugii F-m* A

flirjvM NjchoL.il Fiif ttir 0 . 5 - 1 % ( 1 1 *p-\ . who had hinMiriin occuutu danced
hrfnre 1 hr BLowd Sorroment, wai ooot the subject of ihe fo] luring essperieuee,
*' Or- Buirouiff, wEiils lit Wai gu mi’ Couuraiqion f.j ihe. jj*r.|de i/irr t } lc

urfl?d l\ ms writ v^n m coae forth, moving tn fair aunty and at it were danriiw
xhoui hU finfen (if-i it ririit n war,me fan Mt mimt t fliffW (fdft#vu»

■riwa- -■> ifiu di r *ur. to thus Kreot wonder Slid devotion of all who he-h-ld ihc
fmrarLr ■" Tilt Inddenr t* rtmtai in the Kin which wap coma lied tn iif}fi from
ihe proceworilfi beattficatiOD Ely Fr aG. A lap- ml tht Rfn t,d a h, t afthe C*mr. J.H.C.

1 s n.r itltz V W Jfara Gt‘text* S'iktotn 1774 ), p. * 40 , She died in i 7 + 0.
I .if i aw «:n luti mifanifri, d G B Men mi, id. f, : v,. 1 /,., ,, r r . f . ir .
fittM i ftome, 1733)* pp ito-tf Some nf llwac unrir* Are rather rrajiiplei of
the hifneWion of Uir reriplmt than uf the mdependrttl tnmemtftt of Ihe tan-
HiEraied liMi, Cf. aiw kk-SiSr May, Vd- V, pp. ifo-3 iCcJumbi «f ftktj], ud
June, VqL IV, p{i jfliD, 633 ;Ouniu tit Man: lm}.

TELE£l.\Jys»

153

the Life of Si. \£aria Francesca delle Cinque Piaghc, who is still
nearer our own limes, Her biograplirr writes*

Fpr her the moments before Communion passed with intolerable
t lowness, so much so that site once went so fur as to beg her con*
feoor, Don Antonin CcrvclKni, to say a Mass for the dead or a
volive Ma-i. in order to shorten things, and when he objected tluit
the rile of that day did not allow h t * y Qu r Mass," she told him,

gees on for ever; it ii too long, for pity 1 ! sake say it quicker.'*
s ' ::h ^uage, the good priest declared, would have troubled me
had I not known the virginal innocence of her soul and her extra*
ordinary austerity of life, and if I had not also realised that she was
carried away by her love and thinned only for Jesus Christ.
Accordingly I made my preparation at once and to gratify her ]
hastened my Mas as much as I could. When, however, I came (O
the point of giving her Communion, hardly had 1 turned round
and pronounced the words fiafi Agnus Da when 1 perceived that
the Host was no longer between my finger*. 1 was terribly upset
and I stood there anxiously examining the paten and the ground,
irnt she signed to me that she already bad die Host upon Ucl
tongue, and [ on seeing thin was able to set my mind at rest. The
server of ihr Maa?, Signor I rantcscfi Borelli, wai also a witness of
the incident ant! was as startled by it as the priest himself , 1

Hut the story told by another ol die confessor* or the same $aim
H >tnin £ cr Ltl ^ any vve have yet met. and it gains authority from
tin: fact that die said confessor, the Italy Bunrabite, F. S. M.
Bi tine hi, has himself also been beatified. Since he made ildi
dep ositing in the process of tanoniKaiion of Saint Maria Francesca,
anu speaks not from report but of lib own personal experience, his
trstimosiv, extraordinary as Et is, cannot lightly be set aside. I
quote dn- abbreviated account given tn the Amhcta juris P&nltfcii.-
rhe longing fur Communion in Iter case was so extraordinary

.1 V ha flr ™ E hy f“ lMT Ijwiow, ril'.j di s. Marts nttiL

fll C y i V >f t . F '***-!. ^ R, 3 n f- P- 43. « fvilntffy <!mv«t fcm die drpwdoil

Of hatter CWfihl iu the pr™ of h^tihe^um, IX ’

*SflB»wl Sr Tin. 185^ col 1616,

'1 *[» tjuoted m liir Reply to Ancmodvettiom of thr

tJ r pU ^ w - ■* b-bu^ %««* W4.eude,™-

i Jl| - E f^m pi dd!.' fnir Mum, r mi nfftfaimJ

312 ™ imimav * : "“ i] h \" U (■"£*?» dl "l suoprrn.^cihi ftunu> ^

petadka if «||« dSFStare

* 1 ** nHj frrrj ui Dn>. Othcj witnm* in ihr .

e k> tl.iv*

JFP-’

lime

hrre dEU terra df Dio,** Other witacwi in the proce* atuWi

0 n " ' n r ,fc « » «*. <" Mini .nd

1^4 THX PHYSICAL PlTICiOMESA Of MV5TIL1SU

that at limes during my Mass God vouchsafed to console her by
xhc ministry of angels, even so far as in allow her to participate
in the precious Blood which ’alls in the chalice, In fact the Arch-
angel Raphael, after the mnsecTatiou, or at any rate before my
Communion, took h -i the chi! ire from the altar and allowed her
to drink of It as ahr kndL a! home. Sometimes she drank very
little, only a few drops hul it wn,. enough to lead me to question
her and satisfy myself of the fuel. On one occasion when the
dntnk almost the half I noticed the clear ami munis lakjilile absence
of ,1 part >4" the - ontentji of the chalice, arid } wa* extremely nir^
prised. When 1 questioned her as to what had happened, she
replied: 11 If it had not be«\ that thr; Aj changed reminded me that
iIlc Holy Sam&c must 1>e properly CGtisu i rs mated J jJjoald have
drunk the whole/' At other times tilings happened differently.
For example, site received by the in termed hi iy of angels the
fragment of the Host which I had put into the chalice. On some
rare Occasions l no tiro! this, no! feeling the fragment on my
tongue or rplnst my palate. Then I asked (he Servant of God
about it, and ihe ratified me dm* our Lord had willed that It
should be brought to hei.

I mi tmablc to understand bow Blessed Francesco Blanch! fame
to suppose that die dtudkc it sell'"could have been removed fmm the
alLar while his M.lss ivas proceeding, but ao doubt h is difficult lo
imagine a liquid transported through the air as the Host might be
transported. Curiously enough, the only parallel I am able to
produce of this abounding conveyance of the species of wine to a
commurnL ant ;n a distance ib to In- found in the Life of a mm in
Southern Italy, who was ham in ifhib and died only in 1912,
l-Ttr biographer, who was abo her director, write* of her as follows:

Oiv rn^re than one occasion die received Communion under t!ic
two species of bread and wine. The fact of her having cam-
mimic tiled was made known in various way*, first because at such
Limns her look betaine angelic:, united -' i.iphie* to stidi a degree
that she no longer seemed a creature of earth. From this trartf*
Icttuation in her appearance it was evident tu her intimates that
shr had been regal rd with the mnn holy Eucharist. But that stir*
bad abo been permitted to partake of List Precious lito-jd of Jesus
was detected by the Superior General of llit Order, and by some
of the nuns, who, when kneeling iieddr her, remarked titat an
cxtraordiiiary fragrance of wine was perceptible al! around*

An astonishing fact was also noticed by one of her confessors

TELHBJTffc^S

'55

who is now dead, and afterwards by her director [the writer of fhr
biograpliv m well. Whilst he was saying Mass in die church of
the convent, when die moment came for receiving die contents of
the chalice lie observed to fm hum r lurpriiie that a considerable
portion of the Precious Blood had already been consumed by some
invisible agency. His suspicions, which turned in her direction,
bcoimi; a reality after .Mass on Ills learning from rorrve of the rums
that in converting with Suor Maria della Pass I one they had per-
ces^d a fragrance of wine. Thb was further confirmed bv the
privileged Sister htrsdf, who came to him and said smilingly;
w hL-ive you seen whm Jesus has done ? Oh J how good He is to
mi ' ' ^ ’ rj die fullnra of hrr grateful heart she bore witness

tf tlie wonderful thing ihal bid happened to her.

Another confirmation is furouhH by a mm of the uime coni'
m unity, Shirr Maria della S. Sintlone T who was die confidant of
manv of die secrets of die Servant of G.,ri, She has stated in
writingi "One day Sister Maria delih Fasrirme ivna wreathed in
smiles and I asked her what ocw iking had happened to her , .
die wii> si four, but afterwards, moved by llu word of obedience, she
bowed her head and said: . . , ^ the Confessor ikta morning liad a
fright whim he received the Chaiicc at Mass, because he perceived
that the wine was diminished in quantity and he looted to see if
It had lieen spile up on the altar, hut it was useless, because I drank
It and I left very hide in ihe Chalice, but I do not know, . . how
il all happened.’ " l

I have no mcim of gauging the trustworthiness of the writer of
thi^= dungs* hul the book at lr-isl has appeared in a second edition
wiih full episcopal sanction, and it leerm that the beatification of
Suor Maria is already bdng talked of a* likely to come to pus at
no very remote date. This, of coarse, h mere but with

regard to another Indian mystic, Anna Maria Talgi, who was
beatified in 1940, we have what seem:- good cvidrm.'e tluii thr
Sacred Hwt on mote than one occasion flew to tier Ups. The aamc k
also trnr of a French ecstatic and foundress of our days, Mere Marie
dr ! - u- (M da mi dn Bourg , who died in i 86 a. In her case the
fiict of ImtJi Irritation and telekinetic Communion appears to rent on
the testimony ofmany of iirr religious sisters w ho were eyewitnesses . 4

It may hr wonfi while now to devote rather more space to the

J I. M. Foot n Its, fjtl ,l;lt I \ llifiJ ftipmntrUe, Sa.-r MjrtA Vi'/.l f 1 9i w Wfr >>

* 9 * 7 |. PP*

'Sec Cr. Dij Couj-<. Vnt Fwfarx* «u £ tX~ Siklt Pari-. 191 ( , pp. -j 4 j , } ^,

I 5 lj THE t l m r *!CAL JOJZNGHHVA OF w^ rH.y

dUcitsdon of a paitk'uUu cucLiriatic miracle vvbith h somewhat
different iti character from those lo which I have just heeri nil tiding,
but which is widely known, first taeaLiw: it k recounted in one of
the Lessons of the Roman Breviary* and secondly* because its
memory is perpetuated in ihc device which adorns the habit of the
11 ManteUate " or nuns or the TLiird Order of Servites, 'flic prt*-
digy is connre ted with the East moments of Saint Johnna Falcon ieri,
the foundress of die Mametlate, who died an June 19, 133.1. I
cannot do lurtlrr than quote ihc Breviary kuson just rrienred to.

The self-infliefed havdahipa of her life brought upon her a tiitc.ii*
of 1 lie stomach, whereby, when she wits seventy yean of age, she
was brought to the point nf death. .She bar* ihc daily sufferings of
her illness with a muting fb.ee and a brave heart. The only tiling
of which she was heard to coin plain wm iluit her stomach bei ng m
weak dial she could not keep down any food, she was withheld by
reverence for the Sacrament from drawing near lo the Lord's Table*
l inding herself in these »traits she begged tile priest to bring the
Bread bfGodt and as she dared not take !t in 10 her mouth, to pul it
as near as possible lo her heart. The priest did at ahe wished, and,
to the amazement of all pmrnt* the Divine Bread at oner db-
appeared from sight, and at the same instant a smile nfjctymis pcj.t r
crossed ihe face of Juliana, ami she gave up tbe ghost. All wcie
confounded until the virgin body was being laid out after death in
th'- accustomed manner. Then there was found upon the left side
nf the bosom* a mark like the stamp of a seal reproducing the form
of the Sirred Hom, ibr mould of which woa cm of thou- that bear .!
figure of Chrhi ervrihech*

This is the story which k told in the Breviary- in accord with the
various published Lives nf the saintly foundress and the miracle is
regarded by the BolJandisis and others as peculiarly well authen¬
ticated became a document is in existence, said to have been drawn
up b Lai in eighteen days later, giving an account of what hud
happened . 3 I reproduce with 4 few slight modificattnnA the trans¬
lation of h which U furnished by Father Soulier, G.S,M.

1 Romm Rmiaty. |*ord Bute's Inffllitioo, the tilth Snsnii for iht fafaf ,J gj.
JilLiAflS. JltlW I Uh

* Tliti document is not mentknwd by fndwr Pafwbradi in t he very shufi
•ccounl nf ^1. Julian n pruned in the Aft* S&zfiitmr fur June igih r b<ll it L dvxn
m iM no® by faihtr Victor de Bmjt in. llic twelfth volume for Oitebr? nr,
WJ V when ht- « ilrahng with the Life of Hlrtsctl JoftnUS SodorLfli, the MtUJT
1 Siller Jnaniu * whose name u mentioned Out among! I thwc said tn it*wt been
prta-m the rnJrjtk h.i[jpcnetl

TELEKINESIS

*57

tMCCCXXXXJ.* Iu the Month of July.

“ He hath madr .1 mrmorial of Mis wonderful works ” [P». ex. 4T.
Let it be placed on record how eighteen days ago our Sister J uliana died
and flew to heaven with her spouse Jesus ; and it was in this manner.
Brim; more than seventy yean old, her stomach liad become so
weakened from her voluntary sharp penances, from fasLt, from
chains, from an iron girdle, disciplines, nightly vigils and spare diet,
that shr was no longer able to take or retain food. When she knew
that because of this she must be deprived of the Viaticum of the
moat sacred Body of Christ, no one could believe how much she
grieved and wept, so much so that they were afraid she would die
from the vehemence of her sorrow.

She, therefore, most humbly begged Father James de Campo
Regio that at least he would bring the most Holy Sacrament in a
pyx and set it before her, and this was done. But when the priest
Appeared carrying the Body of our Lord, she straightaway prostrated
herself upon die ground in the form of a cross and adored her Master.

Then her face became tike the face of an angel. She desired,
since she was not allowed to unite herself to Jesus, at least to kiss
Him, but this the priest refused. She then begged piteously that
over the hunting furnace of her breast they would spread a veil
upon which they might put the Host. 'Hiis was granted her. But
—O wonderful prodigy !—scarcely had the Host touched this loving
heart tlum it was lost to sight and never more was found. Then
Juliana when the Host hod disappeared, with a tender and joyoits
face, as if she were rapt in ecstasy, died in the Kiss of her laird,
to the amazement and admiration of those who were present—to
wit, of Sister Johanna, Sister Mary, Sister Elizabeth, Father James
and others of the house.*

One would deeply regret to disturb the reader’s faith in so pretty
a story. But we must not shut our eyes to two rattier serious
difficulties. In the first place, it is surely a very curious fact that
in this quasi-official memorandum nothing whatever is said con¬
cerning “ the mark like the stamp of a seal reproducing the form
of the Sacred Host " which was found “ on the left side of her
bosom." They can hardly have forgotten the circumstance in
eighteen days, and this was after all the only conclusive evidence

* In the Acta Sandman the due prrAtrd to this document a MCCCXXXX
(1340). Father Soulier, Ixrwtrvrr, print* it at in the text, ami all recent authorities
•eetn to naugn thr death of St. Julian* to tjft, including Father Poncclet in ha
BA. Hag. Latina.

* Soulirr, Lift tj St, Juiuma FaLimcn, p 165.

* 5 ®

nil PHYSICAL I'Jir VOMENA Of strvmsisil

riiat so stupendous a miracle Hftd taken place. 'Ric rnctitK was
June, the place Florence, it a hardly likdy that the window* would
have been kept dosed in the room where the Saint was breathing
her lui.^ Consequently a slight puff of pit op some convulsive
movement of the invalid might easily have accounted for the
disappearance of-a Host so insecurely resting upon her breast.
How could the witnesses of inch a marvel as tlie miraculous imprint
Upon her bosom have neglected to make the slightest reference to
tlu; detail, so much more Startling In itself chan the mere inability
to find the vaered juurtklc , J

The Grit to mention I he device stamped upon the virginal flesh
of the Saint, ® Dir a* we can now ascertain/is Father Nicholas -
M^tJ, a Servile Religious, who somewhere .fliout the year 138,1 Jdt
behind him a manuscript volume, written in Italian and still, we
are told, in ezblcnee, Which lie entitled GiarttaU e Mutndi (Journal
and Memoir*). In this h e included a very brief notice of Sl J uLiana
and of Blessed Joanna Sutlrnni; and one of the few tlefiiutc tilings
which he finds to say about the latter is embodied in this t m tfn fr
11 She wm the happy disciple who, sooner than Sister Elizabeth and
the others' discovered upon I he breast of St. Juliana that astounding
marvel of the figure of Christ nailed to the cross impressed upon
luir Hull witiiin a circle like a Host.* 1 Nevertheless, this testimony
was probably not written down until some forty years after St.
Julian* 1 * dr.it h, neither b there any tts&on v> believe irtat Father
Nkholto was personjilly acquainted either with Jn liana or with her
devoted disciple Joanna Sudrriui. His information was presum*
ably derived from lib fellow Servile* nr some ol tbt Man tel late
nuns, and we blow W easily a star*, ,f lltU kind may grow up
and how quickly it spreads and is improved upon.

But what has so far been said h by no niratis the most serious
difficulty which meets 115 in investigating the truth of tins miracle.
Much more upsetting Is the fact that the story of the miracubui
pei hti ration of a Hot through the breast was not new, but just at
that period was widely diffused throughout western Christendem
TitG pinm Franciscan tab to which I refer seems to have had its
drigm before St. Juliana was bom. What we know for certain is
tliat it recurs twice in the ccrfbcttoti of stories known m the Sptnilum
Lakorum (Mirror qf Lay folk), which was almost certainly compiled

m unfair auppttiikn. in tuly .till quiut

amTnpl V. ihrtr warn* f«?l m lUdUnrr by dmioK *1J win Jo*i dtotiw tli
day .uid tlfA^inif [Jtrtvn iliUKcn dr -.iJir.li lirtHi J.H,t ..

**“ tAriJtu9 * ,: Iecm m ■W 3 * tire imprintqxfaRflf wa»* Unit

TELEKINFTtj

*59

by an English friar between 1379 and 139a. 1 It is recounted there
in a very summary fashion, but in other books of the same chm
plenty of detail is supplied, though, as might be expected, the
circumstances vary in almost every example which we meet.
Following the indications given in Mr. J. A. Herbert’s Catukgur oj
Romances, Vol. Ill, I liave copied one version of the story from
MS. Sloanc 2478, a manuscript of the early fourteenth century.
This account may be translated rather freely as follows:

Brother Peter de Swynesfcld, of holy memory, w ho was formerly
“ Minister " [».e., Provincial) of the Friars Minor in England, was
accustomed to tdl—and indeed he himself left the story in wTiting—
how when he was returning from the General Chapter [at Assisi]
in passing through the pleasant town of Rimini ujKin the Adriatic,
in company with Brother Adam dc Maddol, it happened that the
lord of the said township fell ill. Me was a nobleman (cornet) and
very pious, a true Catholic in faith, most earnest in hearing Mass
nnd in looking upon the Body of our Lord ( firedfums in missis
audiemli\ et in dotninici corporis aspectu) and amongst other things it
wns his daily custom to pray to Cod that at the hour of death he
might be found worthy to be Fortified by the Body and Blood of
Christ as a precious viaticum. Before long the end drew near, for
he suffered from continual vomiting and his stomach could retain
no form of rithrx liquid or solid food. Bring thus licreft of the use
of medicine and of all hope of recovery', he beggrd that the Viaticum
of Salvation might be hmught to his mom by priests and religious,
for he pleaded that his eye* at least might be refreshed by die sight
of the Body of our Ixird, sinre hr dared not partake of It as food.
Before this divine Presence hr prostrated himself on the ground
and poured out his lamrnt that it was not permitted him to receive
the Viaticum, for w-hidi every day of his life he had made petition
with such intense desirr. At last after many sighs and tears, hr
asked that his left side might be washed by the priest and covered
with a linen cloth, humbly begging tliat since hr was not worthy
to receive the Body of Christ with his lips, the priest, if that could lie
allowed, might take It and lay It upon his heart. So it was done ;
and when the priest had reverently placed the most holy Eucharist
upon the chest of the sick man just under the left breast, behold
his chest opened of itself and the adorable Body of Christ, escaping
from the priest's fingers, passed through the aperture ; while in

' Set J. Hi. Writer, Thnaunu Exmfitarwn. fry V'., preface.

l6o THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA Of UYBTICmi

the «mc moment this truly Catholic nobleman fell asleep in the
This took place about the year of our Saviour to68.*

As already stated, there can be no room for doubt that this
story, though variously told, was in circulation long before the
death of St. Juliana. In several of the texts of the Speculum Laicorum
the prodigy is said to have happened near Marseilles. A narrative
preserved in MS. Royal 7-C.t, which is somewhat fuller than that
just translated, tells us that the nobleman was called Albert of
Venice, and that his title was Count of Panne. In this version the
narrator mentions that after the nobleman** breast had closed
again “ a certain red scar was left behind to prove the truth of the
miracle” {remanent* tamen cicatrice rpiadam rubra ad tanti miraruli
fidem faciendam).* 7 *hc friars also in this case are said to have been
on their way to, not returning from, the Ceucral Chapter m
Aoisi, and the year assigned for the miracle is 12C7.

Whether there is any historical foundation for this incident, or
whether it is—like so many other tales included in these nirdhevol
collections of " exempla,” such as Comerlinnm or the Speculum
Laicontm— just a pious story, is very hard to decide. There can be
no question that in spite of the protests of many learned theologians
(Lyndwodc. the great English canonist, among the number) the
practice of bringing the Blessed Sacrament to be gazed upon by a
dying man who was unable to receive Viaticum was a very common
one in the Middle Ages. We have one famous example in the
case of another Juliana, Juliana of Mount Coraillon (11258), who
was mainly responsible for the institution of the Feast of Corpus
Christi, but no miracle is recorded on that occasion. Similarly of
our own King Henry VII, St. John Fisher in one of his sermons
tells us how:

Two days next before his departing, he was of that feebleness
that he might not receive the Sacrament again, nevertheless he
desired to sec the monstrant wherein It was contained. The good
father, his confessor, in goodly manner, as was convenient, brought
It unto him. He with such a reverence, with so many knocking*
aod beatings of his breast, with so quick and lively a countenance,
with so desirous a heart, made his humble obeisance thereunto •
with so great humbleness and devotion kissed, not the self place
where the Blessed Body of our Lord was contained, but the lowest

1 British Mturuni. MS. Strum? 2478, fol. 14. b.

* MS. Roy*). 7. C. 1, fol. 100, b.

TEUXINE2Q (6l

part of the Toot of the monstrant, that ail that stood about him
scarcely might contain them from prayers and weeping.*

It b undoubtedly with a reference to such practices that the
twenty-fifth of the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion laid down that
44 the Sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon,
or to be carried about, but that we should daily use them.”

Of course there b no absolute impossibility that both in the case
of the Host laid upon the breast of the Italian nobleman and in
that brought to St. Juliana Falconieri, the same miracle of absorp¬
tion through the intervening barrier of flesh may have been
wrought by the Divine power; but those who are best acquainted
with the medieval practice of unconsciously adapting older tegends
to fresh cases and famous names, will be least disposed to regard
the evidence offered for the marvel which we have here been
discussing as adequate or convincing. The very fact that St.
Juliana was so deeply venerated would be sufficient to render it
likely that any accident or confusion occurring amid the deep
emotional excitement of such a death-bed scene might be trans¬
figured into a supernatural prodigy of profound significance.

1 See Bridget!, Hitton •/the Maly Euehoriit u» Grtmi Bntxv i (1908). p. 254.

CHAPTER V

THE LUMINOUS PHENOMENA OF MYSTICISM

T HE case of the “ luminous woman M of Pirano in iqj*
attracted a certain amount of attention in the English
newspapers. Presented at first as a purely pathological
abnormality, this manifestation now seems to be attributed, at least
in part, to psychological conditions of religious origin. In a com¬
munication from Milan which appeared in The Times for May 5th
of that year, wc learn that a cinematograph apparatus has beta*
brought into play, by means of which it has been possible to obtain
®n exact record of the nature and duration of the luminous
appearance. VVith the aid of the film thus provided. Dr. Protti
has submitted a provisional report of the case to a medical society
connected with die University of Padua. This investigator, we are
told, has convinced himself that the woman 0 has a fixed idea of a
religious character,” and he also holds that “ dicse fixed ideas can
in particular subjects produce profound cimnges in the vegetative
life system.” In illustration of this he appeal* to the chill resulting
from intense fear, to die bleaching of die liair which is sometimes
caused by an unforeseen shock, to the emotions wliich increase the
heart beats, to the effect of protracted suffering upon the gastric
secretions with those of the thyroid gland, etc. All these things go
to show what influence can be exercised by the stimuli wliich act
on the brain in determining changes, sometimes of a Listing nature,
in the visceral functions. That some disturbing conditions of this
sort are present in the case, seems to the investigator wc are quoting
to lie a matter beyond dispute. In the words of The Times
correspondent’s report:

These disturbances of die vegetative life in the woman are evident
It is enough to recall that the frequency of her breathing and her
heurt beam are redoubled when the luminous phenomenon is
manifested, after which a heavy perspiration is noted. 'Phis
increased frequency is probably determined by sudden additions to
the blood stream of glandular substances tending to excite these

■nrc mHiNova pirENDMENA or wysticisw: ifjg

functions. The woman fasted very -medy liurinc; Lem* and Dr,
I'rntti attaches much importance to this circumstance. The
radiant power of her blood is three Lime* the Hornnil, aa Dr.
IVotri was able 10 verify.

the doctor b, tlterdhre, inclined in believe that, during fasting,
tomiitinm a : c rv'.ibliibijd in lek WOttlAn i.t-s <ur . 1 ! >]<■ t hi-

duct ion tjf an cicst riF sulphides, the practice of which k revealed
usually by a dark murk left oil the iktn of thmc who wear a silver
necklace. Sulphides have tbc property of becoming luminous
when they arc excited by ulira-violet radial ions. As the radiant
power of the blood is of an ultra-violet nature and as the w(m.,L:i
p«wcss« » sen high radiant power, which rise* slid higher with
the increase of the combustions produced by (he acxelcrntion of
the heart lwmts, if seems possible to Dr. Protti that the ultra-violet
radiation p| th* hW*d ra.i;, Ctfrite ihr- mlphidct produced in the
organism of the woman and thtJ* bring about the periodical lum¬
inosity. Dr. Protti holds, therefore, timt if it were possible in
show that energies of equal intensity to the ultra *vude( onef misled
lit the blond of the woman, it would be possible to believe that a
plausible B x plft ba llon of the luminous plume turnon had been
found.

It is rather mletrstrng to compare these remark? wiih certain
comments which occur in iht great treat be cm Bcaiifkatuin and
CLmoniattioa of Puts per 3 .-unite! tins (Ppgje Benedict XIV ,
Thai high authority is quite prepared to attribute to natural causes
many of the luminous emanations said to have been witnessed now
and again in the case of GodY diroen servants* Appealing m the
statements made by Gassendi, Conrad Otancf and T. Bartolini,
the Pope says: " It scums to be a fact that there arc natural flames
which at times vbihly encircle the burn, 111 head, and niso that from
l man's whole person tire may on occasion radiate naturally. not.
however, like a flame which streams upwards, but rather in the
form of spar let which are given off all round; further, that some
people become rcrplrndeiu with a hlrne of light, though this U not
inherent in themselves, but attaches rather 10 their clothes, or to
the m;dT or to ihc spear which they are carrying." 1 It must he
c<mJessed tluii DO Very satisfactory evidence it adduced fur 1 bis.
The portents described in the early books of Livy are not audit
convincing as historical sources. Such a modem aulhoney as Dr,
L. N. Harvey show’s no disposition to a dmi t the raH e n T of any

'P. Lamhotloi. ft r li CoH/ilgjn^W, ttc >k ! V. par! i, c hup

TllE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF MYSTICISM

radiant phenomena of this sort. 'I he in mini he seems to recognize
m the human subject is “ the occasional presence of luminous
bacteria in wounds," and the fact that “ the skin may sometimes
be a source of light, especially after sweating.” This, he says, •• is
due to luminous hacterio upon die accumulations of suluunces
passer! out in the sweat which serves as a nutrient medium." 1
Bui the phosphorescence which results from such causei is very
hunt and barely perceptible.

In any case, Prosper Lambcrtiui is somewhat chary about
admitting isolated cams of such effulgence to be incontestably
miraculous, though, in view of die recognized holiness of such
servants of God as St. Philip Ncri, Sl Charles Borromeo, St.
gnatms of Loyola, Su Francis of Sales and many more, he does
not dispute that the brilliant light which was seen on occasion to
surround them when preaching, or when offering the holy sacrifice
was of supernatural origin. It is unquestionably true, as he tells
us, that there arc hundreds of such examples to be found in our
hagxographical records, ami although a great number of these rest
upon quite insufficient testimony, there are others which cannot
lightly be set aside. As I have met no other instances in which
the evidence is equally good, I trust I may be pardoned for referring

to these two striking cases, both belonging to the seventeenth
century.*

The ptoenxut cuimarius for die beatification of Blessed Bernardino
Reahm, who died at Lecce in 1616, was begun in Naples in 1621
Amongst the witnesses examined on that occasion was a certain
Signe r 1 obias da Ponte, a gentleman of rank, whose good standing
was made clear b> other evidence. He deposed that in the vear
i x>8, or thereabouts, he h*d come to consult Father Bernardino,
but ftndmg his door closed, had waited for some time outside His
room. I he door, however, was not completely shut, and Signor
I obias noticed an extraordinary radiance which streamed through
the s ight aperture, and dirough certain chinks in the boards, all
of wfuch set Jum wondering what could have led the Father to
have a fur lighter! at miflday in the month of April. In his
cunmity he pushed the door a little further open and then per-
cc»\ ed the holy man kneeling rapt in ecstasy and raised in dir air
a couple of feet or more above die floor. The witness was too
awestricken to advance further, or even to remain peeping in as

' E> N - Harr *y » T1 * Uzkt (1920), pp. 16-17.

^,X‘ lrady *•“ for ,w

THE LUMINOUS r Iff NOME* a of UYSTUTOI 165

* spectator, but lie sat down again upon a bench outside and
contented himself for a while with watching the light as it issued
through the crannies. He described himself as so dazed by what
he had seen that when he had more or less recovered from his
emotion he decided that die only tiling to be done was to return
home again. After giving this testimony, Don Tobias wa» closely
cross-examined, but his evidence, given, of course, upon oath, was
in no way shaken. He described how he liad argued with himself
tliat the radiance must be his own imagination, or iliat it was
caused by sonic curious reflection of the sunlight outside, but he
said that he had only become more convinced that neither of these
things was possible. Although no otlier witness had shared this
experience, there was some confirmation provided by the deposi¬
tion of a certain Father Bcatillo, who was able to testify that he had
heard the story from Don Tobias several years before.

Even so, one may liesitate to regard the evidence as entirely
satisfactory, but it must not be overlooked that quite a number
of people bore witness to the extraordinary radiance with wliich
Father Bernardino’s countenance was at rime* transformed. They
had not beheld liim raised in the air, but some declared that they
had seen sparks coming from all over lib body like sparks from a
fire ( sanlillova da tutto il corpo come scintilU di futxv), and others
asserted that the dazzling glow from his countenance on one or two
occasions was such that they could not rightly distinguish hb
features, but had to turn their eyes away. Similarly, a Father in
Naples described how, one day, when he had gone to call Father
Bernardino in the early morning he found him on hb knees and
with hb face so radiant that it lit up the darkness of the room.
There were other witnesses, no doubt, who had lived with him in
hb later years, and who stated very frankly that they had never
themselves seen the radiance spoken of, though they quoted the
testimony of several Fathers, no longer living, who had l>ccn more
privileged. But it must !>c remembered that Bernardino was
eighty-six when he died, and that no official examination of wit¬
nesses took place until five yean later. Consequently, few’ could
liavc licen in a position to give evidence concerning the period of
lib more vigorous activity; but they rcmcmliered what those who had
been lus contemporaries declared that they had themselves seen. 1

The case of Father Francis Suarez, the great theologian, depends
upon the testimony of only a single witness, but it is in many ways

1 ^ SvtitButrwrt tzfxt 1 titutikm, reprinted by the Cangrcpiion of Sacred
Rite* in i&t8, Especially pp 1B3, 107-90. 192-3, and 200-a.

166 the. physical I'Uexomkxa op mysticism

remarkable. A Iaybrothcr, Jerome da Silva, who was acting as
porter in the Jesuit college at Coimbra, came about two o’clock in
the afternoon to let Father Suarez know that a distinguished visitor
sought to speak with him. A stick placed across the door served
to indicate that the Father did not wish to be disturbed, but as the
Brother had received instructions that whenever this visitor called
he was to inform Father Suarez at once, he pushed on. disregarding
tile signal, and found the outer room in darkness, the shutters
being closed against the afternoon heat. Then the Brother’s
account goes on:

I called the Father, hut he made no answer. As the curtain
which shut off his working room was drawn, I saw through the
space left between the curtain and ihe jambs of the door a very
great brightness. 1 pushed aside the curtain and entered the inner
apartment. Then 1 perceived tliat a blinding light was coming
from the crucifix, so intense that it was like the reflection of the sun
from glass windows, and 1 felt that I could not have remained
looking at it without being completely dazzled. This light streamed
from the crucifix upon the face and breast of Father Suarez, and
in the Imghtncss I saw him in a kneeling position in front of the
crucifix, his head uncovered, his hand* joined and his body in the
air lilted live palms alrove the floor oil a level with the table on
which the crucifix stood. 1

The Brother then withdrew in great agitation and waited near
the door to recover himself. After a quarter of an hour Father
Suarez came out, and finding the Brother porter outside asked him
why he had not let him know. The Brother explained tliat he had
called him and had come into the inner room, but that there had
been no reply. Then Father Suarez, showing much emotion, tried
to extort a promise from Brother da Silva that lie would say nothing
of what he had seen. The Brother, in turn, him to allow

him to consult Father de Morales, who acted as confessor to both
of them, and it was then arranged, at the suggestion of the con¬
fessor in question, tliat the Brother should draw up a signed and
sealed statement in writing, but with an endorsement on the cover
of the document tliat it was on no account to be opened until after
Father Suarez’s death. As both die lay brother da Silva and
Father de Morales were themselves held in deep veneration for
their well-known holiness of life, it seems to me that this is a piece
of evidence which cannot lightly he rejected.

* R. d* Scomullc, Suarez* Vol. If, p. jot.

THE LUMINOUS PHENOMENA OF MYSTICISM 167

It may be noted, too, that the luminous phenomena connected
with holy people take a very great variety of forms. Amongst
many othrn, that wonderful model of patient suffering, St. lid-
wina of Schiedam, was famous in this way. Thomas & Kcmpis
who, though not her earliest biographer, has left a seemingly
reliable account of the mystical experiences of Itis compatriot and
contemporary, speaks of her as follows:

Apart from her menial illumination, over which great men of
letters and religious, versed in spiritual studies . . . wondered
exceedingly, very often by day and night when she was visited by the
angel, or returned from the contemplation of the tilings above,
she was discovered by her companions to be surrounded by so
great a divine brightness that, seeing the splendour and struck
with exceeding fear, they dared not approach nigh to her. And
although the always lay in darkness and material light was unbear¬
able to her eyes, nevertheless, the divine light was very agreeable
to her, whereby her cell was often so wondrously flooded by night
that to the beholders the cell itself appeared full of material lamps
or fires. Nor b it strange if she overflowed even in the body with
divine brightness, who, according to the expression of Blessed Paul,
beholding the glory of the Lord with open face, was daily trans¬
formed into the same image from brightness to brightness as by the
spirit of the l-nrd (a Cor. iii, 18). And not only was she wont to
be surrounded by divine brightnc&s, but with a wondrous sweetness
also both herself and her cell were found to be redolent, so that
those who entered thought that divers aromatic simples had been
brought in and scattered there. 1

It is undoubtedly necessary in most of these cases to scrutinize
the evidence narrowly even when it b presented on oath in a
process of beatification. We cannot shut our eyes to the fact that
after the lapse of years many people, without conscious insincerity,
do very easily persuade themselves that they have heard, seen or
said things which have no better foundation than their own
imagination, or their wish to believe.* Still, there are not a few

1 St. hdivtfx of Sthuixm, Vttgm, by Thomas a Kcmpii, translated by Dom
Vincent Scullv, C.R-L. (191a), p. 117.

1 For example, I must confess that when Father Bmno, in his lift */ St. Jafa
oj ihi Crau (n. 17$), tdls us that, during the Sainl’t tmpronranem at Toledo.

“ twice the dunifcon was lit up by night as if it %*rrc day,” I should like better
authority than that quoted on p. 446. Thr stm/trs cited am* sxrj late. M.
Bam*i, 1 note, passes thr Incident over in tilracr.

I 68 THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF MYSTICISM

ra^ in which the evidence seems 31 rung, even though die person?
50 favoured are not Saints widely famous throughout die Church.
There can, therefore, be no adequate reason Tor refusing credence
to the report df similar phenomena when they are recorded of tho>r
whose eminent holiness and marvellous gifts of grace air uni*
verwliy recognised. Hr 1 radiance which at times L said to have
surrounded &l Philip Nert, St. Catherine dc Ricci, St. Francis of
Paula. St. Alphoruus Liguori and many more, seems antecedently
likely, assuming the fact that such a favour has been bestowed upon
other holy people who are less eminent. No doubt it is easy to
exaggerate the impression left in such cases. A man who speaks
with power and intense conviction is apt to be flushed. Hu
count man.- r is transformed, his eyes flamr, his vehemence seems
alrntui to surround him with a half*. In. the very sober life of
St. Philip Neri, by the Abb£s PonnrUe and Bordet, a biography
which possibly pushes the critical spirit somewhat further than b
necessary, we find, if 1 mistake not, no definite mention of the
radiance which is said often to have lit up die face of the Apostle
oE Rome. There is a discussion, of course, of the citraordinan'
palpitations from which the Saint suffered, qf the displacement cl”
hb ribs and of the seme of consuming heat which continually
attended him, but wc hear nothing of the radiant aureole with
which, according to his early biographer and friend* Father B.icci,
Ills Icatorci were not infrequently glorified . 1 Moreover, in alluding
hi the acquaintance of Sr. PliiJip with Si Ignatius, die nuthf.ru &;sy:

Philip vvas not En the habit of dating bis recollections* but lit
gladly spoke of the impression mode upon him by " Father Ignatius
of holy memory-" H Hu face," he said, u was all resplendent,**
T'hua did interior perfection show itself to him in the faces of men.
He observed the same phenomenon In St, Charles Borromei), and
in the Carthusians of Santa Maria degll AngdU, when they came
away from their prayer.

There is no need t" suppose that he saw a material aureole, and
Fhiiip*s words mas br understood cither of a countenance, fidl uf
fervour, or of impassioned gestures, such as St. Ignatius made use of
in hi? first sermons in Rome. Did nut St. Ignatius himself say in
the Constitutions which he drew up in 1539 (sic) that “ the frame of
1 hr spirii and die rye* make more impremon upon the masses than
elegant discourses arid nieely-chojcii ? Wandering about

1 DaccL Ptfc M filt Filippa S*fi (Firastt, Bock lit. cap, 1, an, 15-t*,

pp. 107-U

THE LLMDfOtJ* FHENOMEJM OP \| WM 'IVJ t6q

tlic stucco of Rome in stands of die things G<xl, Philip taiiihit
have failed to at tend, during 13d, ihe sermooi at Santa Marla di
Monierrato, when the Spaniard, by hia vehemence and hk
“ an thorny," was carrying off their feet even those of his hearers
who did not understand hit tongue - i

rhis may be s-o, but I find it rather difficult to believe that Sri
Ptiilip and those who u?cd similar expressions, not only of St.
Ignatius, hut of St. C T liar let and many others, were only speaking
metaphorically. There art so many stories of holy priest* who lit
up a dark cell or a whole chapel by the light which streamed from
them or upon them, that I am strongly inclined in adhere 10 the
more literal interpretation. For example, we read of the four*
veentli'ccntnry Carthudan, John Toracriuj, then at the Grande
Chartreuse near Grenoble, dial when hts non-arrival in time to
celebrate bis first Mass, led die sacristan to go to hi* cell to letch
him, he found die link room radiant with light which seemed to
™ diffused all round the good Father as if the midday son was
si lining there. 1 Similarly, in the process of beatification of the
holy Fruncbean Observant, Blessed Thomas da Cori, witnesses
staled dial die whole church on .1 dark morning was Lit up |>v
the radiance which glowed in the Father’s countenance [ihr
umbrm>n im Jnfe if quale tutta qufUa chitja tamnosa r risplcndtnk ixniifrjf},*
Furdier, wc lesm from what is seemingly the earliest account
preserved to uj of Blessed Giles of Asriii, that in the night time on
one occasion “ so great a light shone round him dial die light of th
moon was wholly eclipsed thereby.”* So, ogam, that ihe house t jf
Bln.,;cd Akadb of Scarbekc accrued to i*e on fire when site, with .1
radiant countenance, was praying within;* or, once mnrr, (hat
the tell of St. Lewis Bertrand, as Capt ain de Bctaacoiin bore
Witney " appeared as If the whglc room was illumituiircl with die
mw| powerful tamps.”* And such alleged examples are numerous,
Lt! me add that the frequent occurrence of luminous phenomena
in mediumiatic jfaacts-^nany of these being well attested in
circumstances where die strictness of the control seems to preclude
die possibility uf fraud—strongly Incline; me to believe that similar

I't-r.ftrUf- aft'l flts-if-E, f'kiltp Vm T.r : r i t ms. l, pp. iqo~:

1 I -r CojfTTuU, .Irmalti Oiaims Gp^uiubif, Vbl- V* ji ^68.

* eli K 1 nut, [ aid dtl fl r Pds&r T&nmtun da Gari. , 3766 , F p_ j

* .^ctorn, iSf T aj ftlturj Cfef 0/ Amu, p, 7S

* Jimrfc Vat. II, p 474.

1 VN tiherfbrtu*. Lift nf S;_ Lmij ttr.rfrm4, p. W-U

I?0 THE PHYSICAL 1"IIEVOMF N.\ OF MYSTICISM

mimilhtuum* arc tide likely to be lacking in the records of mysti¬
cism, A* the wonders contrived by Pharaoh's magicians followed
closely the ty|>e of the mint eta wrought by Moses nod .Won* so
no careful student til psychical research can fail to notice a very
close resemblance between the marvels recorded in the lives qf the
Salute, and the phenomena of what is loosely termed *pi ritualism.
What the c&imeaion is, i am run! here concerned io inquire, nor
do I believe dial we yci posw^i daU enough «o be able to deal
adequately with the problem.

CHAPTER VI

human saiamanders
1

a r the lime or Ihr excitement earned in Paris by the pbeno-
mma of the GcfnmlximmsRB of Saint-Medard a certain
* * Marie Sonet became famous under the nickname of Mai la
" ^ S alqma ndre.” h Was slated of her that she used to remain
suspended for mure man tisi jii hour a hove a fiay brazier
enveloped only in a died* and that, although in that position rht
Homes played directlv upon her, neither ike nor the sheet which
covered her, sustained any damage, in a booklet contributed to
the scries “ Questions Disputes " M, Olivier Leroy published in
1^3 j an interesting essay upon die question of human mcombiutK
hility, borrowing his lillc from the nickname above mentioned, 1
The i act tiiar in the lives of many of the Saints* (heir immunity
from injury when exposed to burning heat h assumed uj he ex¬
plainable only as a miraculous interference with the laws of nature,
hai led M, Leii»y to make a study of some of the more striking of
such case? and in bring them into relation with other examples of
impassibility in subjects who were not ascetics. J propose in the
present chapter to Jtilli^w in that writer 1 ', footstep*, adding some
fresh material which lias [nx;,ibly reaped hit researches*

Almost the earliest martyr, regarding the manner of w hose death
we possess quite authentic information is St. ftitycarp of Smyrna,
who suffered in a.o. r 55 or 156, Hr was condemned to be Immi
at ihe stake, and the pile of loips when lighted blamed fiercely, h
is stated^ however, that the flames, forming into an arch, gently
encircled the body of the martyr, inflicting no injury ; in that I s
persecutors, 10 dispatch him, sent a spearman 10 paera: him
through the breast with u lance. The gush of blond in said tb
Wtve extinguished the conflagration, but when he was dead and
tlir pj]p wtu rekindled, hi? body, except for the iMUies, was reduced

1 Lti fi AVA-Jr-,? *r Jb Ortu

™ SII,< ftr Otrtlcr Leray. iPilrji: Doctet, Be drauwe Ct. igji

172 the pmvsicm. fhencj-ue^a of itvsncciu

ia ashes. This would seem to show tl\AX it wm no mere accidental
current of air which had previously saved the martyr from
truciion, More directly relevant, however, to out present purpose
is the case, recounted in the sixth century by Sr. Grigory of Totin’
of a Catholic who, in the course of a dispute with an Aiian
opponent, threw a gold ring imo the fire, and as a test of the tmlk
or falsehood of the doctrine repudiated^ challenged his adversary
to pit-k it our again. The Arlan declined the contest, but die
champion of orthodoxy, invoking the Trinity, plunged hi. arm
into the tlnrne and recovered tin: ring, now red-hot. He held it
for some tune in die palm of hu hand, hut, so Gregory assure? 115,
sustak injury- 1 In another rimilar challenge recorded by

tiic isuue writer, a ring was fished out of a cauldron of boiling
water, and again the faith of the Catholic who did ihb protected
him from harm. 1 It may be admitted that no great rdiancf . ■ i.
be placed on the historical accuracy of tlir-e stories; Hut the near
to Ik- noticed is both better known and better attested.

This also was in some sense a tfialkiige. lit the early days of
the Pmarine and Investiture controversy strong feeling was aroused
in many localities against rimoiiiacally intruded prelates. To jofi:;,
i ho de.^t h of Bishop Gerard of Florence, an unworthy candidate
by a huge bribe seemed the appointment for himself, but tlicicbv
provol'-rl <! scries of riots among the ciliems, same favour in •’ his
cause and others opposing it, Aa the only tn cam of raioiing
pe iee, it was decided that an appeal should be made to the judg¬
ment or heaven. St, John Giwlbert, Abbot of Valbtnhmsa,
directed one of hia monks, Peter Akfobrnndmi. afterwards Cardinal
and now venerated as Si Peter J jsieui, to luibmit humelfm .l hery
ordeal in order that and truth might prevail. Two great
piles of wood were foamed, ten feet in length, with -ijtlv ihe
narrowest path between them, These were kindled until they
burnt fiercely, ami even the path itself was strewn with red-hut
embers, Thru Peter, having offered Mass and divested himself of
his 1 iutsuble, but retaining the othei sacred vestment*. waited
dowly along (hr paswige-way between the two blazing piles. Xot
* h dr of htt head wa* injured, me was hu alb even scorched. He
would have returned the ‘..imp way, but die people were Wiffjcdi
dint God’s will had licen made manifest, Thr rimnniacnl bishop
xvtu deposed and afterword* g : r pflnoT of -tinr re repcniaivcc.

1 " AbEiirum *b mm aumilitm dktiiulnit piima iujilny.it ■?* nihil ,it (rccitta ■*
f>r GU*m Gyjj.'.i«ffTT, chap 1 i

* lif Gloria Msttpumi E ciiftfr- Bi.

HUMAN SALAMAM? E-IRS

*73

‘Hicrc ti u> Ik good contemporary evicjmcc for ihh incident^
and Mgr, Mann, for example, bi tiLa Lu^i of the iW, accepts k as
histnrirab 1

But ii. tw lei in turn to a well authenticated case of somewhat
dch M. Leroy tias extracted from die life of the
Aisyu^tinian hermit, Blessed Giovanni Buono—wficrhcr Buono was
hh Uinify name or only .1 wbnquti y John the Good) docs not seem

10 be quite dear. We happen, by good fortune, to possess a copy
of Lise evidence given by the witnesses in the muse of his beaiifica-

11 n in 11151, 1 yt‘*n after hb death, First nmongst these we
have tlse testimony of one Father Salved, who tdh us how a
Bnnhe-r, named jadum, was violently tempted lo give op his
vocation and to leave die Order, It happened, however, one cold
day in winter, when a number of the brethren were g athere d
round a great fire, that John Bueno began to hold forth upon die
supreme importance of being faithful to one's religious profession.
They ought, he said, to fear nothing, neither told, nor heat, nut
hardships, nnr tribulations, being assured that God would Jways
come to their aid when help was really needed.

And iA) ing this [the witness went on] John suddenly rose up
aiuI stepping intD the Brt he began to shuffle the embers about
wish his I Pf if they were water, imd there he remained

standing Co r m lung a time as h lVOtdd take to xay the ilfurmt
half way through. Then, quitting dir fire, be went back to hi*
cell and sent for Brother Mattliew, u well it* for this deponent and
two other brothers of die uurtC Order whom names he has furjjoiten.
He told them that they must be the friends uf God and love Him
dearly ; hut since this deponent was convinced that Brother John
Biiouo had suffered hurt from die said embers, he purposely came
1 k j 5 • to the same John thill lie might the better examine and
observe whether any damage had been done to his feet or his leg*
fir hi* tunic, hut, though hr sentrinked them narrowly, lie -:,iw tio
•s.U '- . ,T iTUming or of any injury.

Ir k witecettbig to note from the same record tiwt dir deponent,
F-'-iher Sfihthi w.o subjected to a Mthcr minute ernss^xum-i nation.

1 The tfctaiti af ihil onied are |ivcp In a Setter written by ihr ctiimn* of
FiiJF*:rsf .- tu rvjjw Airwwhr IT which a incorporated m AhW* Life of Si Tttfon
Set Munn, Cm •■/ tJu PofHi. VI. p. 300, j-mi Ughdii. J t >f -i Am
HI, tt S5— 7. Thrtr call lit Little «Wllt that the U~,z which ^Uwniamla tun-
■Hiterl to ium&rftD in l hr jamr city four hmuirwi yem lalcr w» TOestilcJ by ibt
Itofy uf St> I'tlci lynrm.

’ 74 Tire PHYBjciAt ■ HF-smir:** nr wv^ncifu

He wm asked where the incident had occurred, and precisely when,
haw many of the brethren were present and their names, and alao
v;h;it he knew about die Brother jsthim who was wad to have
beciii coiiiinrsi-d in hb vocation by witnruing this prodigy. One
regret} to learn that about eighteen years bad clasped since the
scene occurred which Father Salved described; but there was
another witness. Brother Matthew, who ;r|40 bad Ixcu present on
the occasion, and his account k in tubstamtnl a cord with the first.

lie declares that there was a deep bed uf embers on the hearth_it

wdE be remcmlicrcd, of course* that no fires but woud lim were
then known—and that John tttumo stood barefoot in dicse cznbcn
Toi a rotiadcrable spare of ItDie, dimming about in them tike a man
who wsu Washing hit feet in a brooks

Aunt her striking ,erio OJ maxiifisrtatiom, similarly assumed to ix
proof of the special WJictity of ihe hol> man for whom ftrt had no
ttrrr it* is filed by M Leroy from the canonization process of Si,
branch ol PiUib. Ihrse have a certain special interest because
this immunity from burning scrim to have been habitual with the
Saint, and liecause he also seem* ii> have pravesfed the power of
communicating the same immunity to others. A Urge number of
ineidents- arc on record proving his own insensibility to tile efietua
of fire, and although iittfbrtunately the evidence in most raw . w,u
nnt put on record until some thirty to fifty years after the event,

■ Tsit it Wiis evidence given on oath and concerned with nuntri
v. hir b arc likely to have made a deep impression upon those who
hud been eye-witnew. Wc learn, for example, from a certain
Bernmdmin de R*y murido that he had been sent bv hts master to
f snnthy to get onr of his animals shod. A large piece of red-hot
iron remained river after the operation, and thereupon Frauds
who di . treed tr. t , Jrt )r in, ink' d the man if he hod enough Iron left
to serve for another similar job hr wmied done. Tile smith
pomiedi to the bar which had been heated, whereupon Francis
calm It took it up in ids hands. They shouted to lum, 5S Father,
don*( do that. Yt>u T U be burnt but dse Saint replied, ’ Bv
ymi r leave, f am just holding it to warm myself."® &u again, when
i hmc-kiin hud la Ikn in, we heat of his sending the people aw av
10 dinner while he, single-handed, entered the kiln to repair the
ikmage. More directly pcrh.ij, to the point is the ttory of htm
tw o dirimgubhed crdnhuitcf who were charged bv the Bid top to

1 The teat* are ta the AJSS., Ocwber, Vat DC, t
M. Leroy fiver *omc addition*! rdVacncci, but tfiey j
J Sc* fht .■! jf, £S., \j-riL VoJ E, p, 17A.

■73 E-h ami p, ™ A;

■tot mid lit die evidence.

UVMMt SAIAMAStlEHa

175

report w Francis of IVuiLj and JtU way of Lift, began, in order to
test him, by mukitiq light of fhc auiteritir^ pracii'r*! by liimself and
hbs followers. It is quite easy for yon to do these things,” they
said, " because you are a peasant and used to hardship. But if
you were of gentle blood you would not Ik able to live in this way."
Whereupon ihc account goes on:

The said Broihrr Francis replied : ,L It is quite true lUai T am
a peasant, and if I were not, l should not be able to do things like
tbh, And as Eir nt sjiokr, he bem down to tbr fire, which was .1
b% uiir end burning fiercely. Killing his hands with the Eirantfs
:uul live coals, 1 he held them there while he turned to the Canon
and remarked : " You vse, I < cm Id not do tljjs if 1 were not a
peasant. . , , Then die Onion threw himself down before the
said Brother Francis and wanted to kha hit feet and hb hands, but
the Brother would tint allow lb*

The incidents of this kind recorded in the life of Francis of Paula
ore very numerous, We hear of bis putting his arm into a kettle
ot boiling oih and on another occasion into boiling lye. We ,-ue
tnEd that when red-hot charcoal was brought him in two wooden
Ifayi to make a fire he carried off the burning charcoal in hb
lundi hut rejected the tray*. ITiere is also a story of certain
charcoal burners who had covered their stack so unskilfully with
^oil that 1 tie flames burst out through several crannies, Francis
pul his bare fbo* over each cranny in mm to keep the fire in until
fresh earth could be brought to close die orifice. He took up in
his hands a large fragment of lime from a burning kiln, and when
at another time something went wrong with the kiln, he entered
it ten or twelve hours after it was opened, though it wav usually
found necessary to wait to. r lays before it had cooled sufficiently.
In 1516 when the Count of Groitcria wrote to l^o X to urge the
canonization of Francis of Paula—he had died in tern—the Count,
among other pleas, averred that it was known to hiimdf and to
Ills wife that Francis, like the three youths of Babylon, had passed
unscathed through more than one fiery furnace. In particular he
attested that the holy man " earned coals in his hands to warm
some of those who had no faith in him, and that the unscomhed

1 ** [anplrvit manta imofubtu et prunu IgTuiu "; the “ pnmur “* were, of count,
rampf Of qanbtt

t AA,SS. r \jjril, Vof. I, p. 14x1, A.ttC The mcklciN u irpoctrd by Clutb
df Pirn, wlirj liwi lEdHnjouieil tint Canon un i|iu tiui,

ijG

TUB. P11V31CAJL mKKOilUIA OP IfYmcmf

condition of there same handi [immontlatia m&mttan had brought:
them la Unhesitating IjeJicf." 1

TJlis fetching of coals to warm people without mention of a
dialing dish suggests to me that he really meant tlicin to take the
red-hot charcoal and hold it;* for it is common to find that those
w ho are theroidves immune have the power to extend this im-
munity m others. Those so requested to warm themselves ju cm to
have declined the invitation, bm a case was mentioned by Maestro
CortforTua de Affrirnto, an eye-witness, in which the ten wili
apparently successful. Ht declared in his evidence that when a
house of the Minims was bein^ construe ted at Paten lin, and a
fone*klfo had been made there and had already been fired* news
™ bought lf) &unt dwi it was falling in. Upon this Francis
ordered a diminutive Brother [mar.achutui —possibly the door wai
so low that a grown man could not have crept in] to take m stick
which he gave him and to set it tip inside. He toEd die boy to
]j:svc no fear* and in fact no harm resulted but ihe kiln was saved.*

Although liflgiographcrs record many Isolated examples of this
insensibility of the saints to the clTecu or fire* some o( these casts
nrc certainly inadequately attested* while in most oilier instances
®P f ,l[Vlk ‘-i r *zr-iw only to have been accorded for some special
emergency. IvL Leroy does well to refer to the well-known story
of Si. Latherine of Siena, Mother Francis Raphael recounts the
incident thus:

Antuhrr day bring engaged m the kitchen according to hcr
cuswm, she sat down by ibe fire and tegnn ro turn the spit * as she
did so tic was rapt in ecstasy,, * . When supper was ended Lira
returned to Catherine, intending to watch by her until she should
recover consciousness. On re-entering the kitchen* however* she
was icrrified to find that Catherine had fallen forwards and' v, ,
lying with ha body on the burning coals. The fire was large and
fierce, for an unusual quantity of wood was always kept burning
m the house for the rake of preparing the dyes, “ Aks ! M cried
LUa, ,J Catherine Is all btjrat 51 ; and to saying -lit ran and drew
her frtlt of the smoking embers, hut found to her wonder that she
had received no injury either in her percon, or even her dothes
on which the " smell of fire had not passed/ 1 ,4 And vet/ h says

hi.

MM, p. ftMJ U,

HUMAN 177

her edd English biographer, M ic was a great fire and she a long
dmc m it*’ But the fire of God's love that burnt within her heart
was of such force and virtue that it would not iuffer that outward
lire to prevail over her, 1

These imlances may suffice as illustrations of the kind of episode
which meets us not infrequently in the lives of the Saints, and
which is habitually treated by hagipgmphers os miraculous. M L
L«"¥ in his booklet gives references 10 other exnrispies in die
Aita Sjuittitum, and he might have added many more. There
*■» for instance, a curious unry in the historically respectable
biography of St, Austreberta who died it) AJJ. 705, Again we hear
ihiU is a number of cases live charcoal tv a* carried in the I Lands
from one place to another, t.g, t this h mentioned in the Life of
Domaiica dal Paradiio, 3 and in that of Margaret Parisoij while
Blessed Angelina di Marsdano is said to have brought die whole
burning contents of a stove hidden under her mantle into the
presence of the King of Naples in order to convince him that she
was not frightened by hi* threats to bum her for a witch, 3 Of the
Ju lv people who seemed to be consumed with some interior fire
■uid who radiated such intense physical heat that their propinquity
WM often the source of considerable discomfort to their neighbours,
t have written in a later chapter.

Taking a general view of there alleged examp la of human
incombustibility, they may, I think, he conveniently divided into
four classes. There are in the first place the cares of which 1 have
so far been speaking which are usually considered to be a miraculous
testimony to exceptional holiness of life. Secondly , there sit there
For which no more b claimed than that the individual so endowed
appears by some freak of nature to be unaffected by the action of
intense heat. Thirdly, we have many stories of spiritual! a tic
iiuirvds which recount how certain mediums when entranced are
able with impunity to handle fire and to protect others front its
action. Lastly, there are the “fire-walks/' associated it would
seem nearly always with some pagan religious rite, but recurring
in almost every part of the world among barbarous people?, and
traceable even in remote antiquity, I am not here considering the
1 l\f* Of, (iaWrf, p . 64.

1 1 S«, ill pirtkukr, Ft. M. Barshfarisni, Vita MLt i' wr 4kt PamSm

{ P-410. The invention nffudfer irtatchci luu lived ui from die cemUfll
nrceiflstv of tranaporlEnjf fire from one room hr another i*hkh v,... j,> furailisr A,
friliifr in thedomeuk life efeidin- Ocnturki,

* L JacobilL. Vk& <£rU* B, .ir'flzta £ (1737., p. 54,

I THE l‘imiC\L FHfcMOMEHA OF M YSTICS

fire Ordeals nf the Middle Ages whSch would belong proper ! y to
the first category. .Such tests were conducted by ecclesiastics, and
they formal! v made appeal to die Divine justice, trusting that God
would not allow the innocent to perish. Incidentally it may be
noted tliat the case of Queen Eruma, the mother of St„ Edward
the Confessor, which M. Leroy has died zi length, it rather an
nnfortiiiKUc selection, There Li no mention in contemporary his¬
tory or thi* walking of the Queen over nine red-hot plough-marts,
and it is now tmiveradly rejected a» a teblc,

Ibe question rcflinim whether there 1 any evidence for the
belief that some exceptional individuals are impend om to the
effects of heat, and even for tt while to flame, .assuming that die
trial is not indefinitely prolonged.

Let me quote in the first place a wcEMumvm passage from
titfhn's Diary which M. Leroy also has transcribed. Obviously
the performer in tlih cast rrude no pretence of any religious
mission. Hr wa* impl) .1 common juggler, but it is difficult to
•cr how such feats could ive executed in a private d rawing-room
if they tvr re entirely hiked. Where there in a stage and the oppor¬
tunity uf using apparatus, tlUniam might he [iroduced much more
cj uly, Be this jj it may, Evelyn records:

8, 167a. f lookr leave, ol my Lady Sunderland, who vv,u
going 10 P.iTip to nr. Lord, nou ambassador there. She made me
stay dinner at Leicester House, and afterwards sent for Rtdrardvnt
die famous fire-eater. He devoured bruBKton an glowing coales
bifure us, during and ’wallowing them ; he m culled a beam*
gl^ c and rale it quite up : then taking a live coate on hit tongue,
hr punt >rt .1 i.lw - 0.urr, rhe coal was Mown on with bellows dll U
llamcd anti sparkled in (fit mouth, anti so remained until the oyster
L>iped jLtul ivai quite boiled ; then he me!ted pitch and wax with
oilphur, which hr drank do* nr as if flamed ; I saw ii flaming in
his mouth a good white ; fie als-> took tip a thick piece Myron, such
a liumdrt se* use to put iu their Mnoothmg-boxt*, when it wm
fiwy' hut, held if between his teeth, then iu bh hand, and threw it
about Ukcn stone, but tins I observed lie cared not in hold very font; ;
then he stood on a urnll put. and bending his body, look ,1 gtawitrig
yrern with hi» mouth from between hh feete, without touching the
p>( nr ground with hiu hands ; with divers other prodigious tea tea.

Rig harden, it .appear*, was well known in Fimicr as web os in
England, and an article was devoted to him in the Jcumci dts

HUMAN SALAMANDERS

t79

Savants for 1677. Ths account given of this juggler 1 ! performance
n in exact accord ' iris Kvtlyn's drscrifjtion, but it magnifies rather
than attenuates ibt winder, living far example that 'In- holds a
red-hot Iron in iris hands lot a king lime without any mark being
left by it afterwards/* 1

Side by iide with this we may range an extraordinary report
furnished by a cmtmpqfident .if the .V«f t*.?tk Hindi concerning n
negro in Talbot County, Maryland, Die vrtitri flame* several
prominent, inhabitant! of E&sUm, as well as die editor of a local
newspaper. and stales dial In their < tympany lie. was present at an
exhibit iun of the negro** powers which took place, not in the
performer’s own home, hut " at Dr. Stack'') Office J'

A hriik fuc of anthracite coal was burning in a common tJpal
stove and an iron shove] was placed in the stove and! heated U* *L
white heat. When all wa* ready, the negro pulled rdf his I mote
and placed the lint sJiuvel on the soles of his feel, and kepi it there
until the lhnvtJ be< &me black. Ilia feci wnc then examined by
the physicians—three were parent—but uo hum* could he found
and all declared that ilo evidence of a heated suliutmice having cuiue
iri cotiturt with them was visible,

'Hie shovel was again heated red-hot, taken from the stove and
banded to him, Ur ran oui his tongue as far a* lie could, ami laid
Lhe shot el upon it, licking the lion until it became cooled. The
physicians examined the tongue but found nothing ro indicate that
lie had suffered in ihe leasi from ihi heated iron, A large handful
of common squirrel shot wa> next placed in on iron receptacle
and heated until melted. t'hr n^gro then took the dish, ponied
the heated lead inir> ihr palm of hi hand, and then pul it inu> his
mouth, allowing it in run nil round hit iced* and guim. He
tepeaird die operation several limcr, rsflh time keeping ihr mdled
lend in jtu mouth until solidified. After each operation ihr
physicians examined him cartfiiUy, but could iuid nothing upon hh
flesh U> indicate that he had been in ihe least aJTcvfcd- . . - Thm
lie deliberate!' put Ids bund itiifi ihe stove, in which was a very hot
fire, took dirrchom :i handfi.il of hot coah and passed them
,ironnJ thr room to the gentlemen present, keeping them in hi ,4
hand some Lime. Not ihr slightest evidence of a burn was visible
upon feds hands after be threw the coals buck into the stove.

The writer goes on to say Ibat all the people present had tome

1 Qjwttd tiy Leroy, U 1 llwirrttf .'iaixmmJm, p, 27.

l8n Tlir PHYSICAL mWOWDtA Ot MYSTICISM

with the express purpose of detecting trickery, ET such there were*
1>ut that they were satisfied rd the genuinene?* of the exhibition*
We are also told that two judges of the judicial circuit, who are
named, had previously risked the negro m his own blacksmith*!
shop, and that they had subsequently declared tliat, to me their
precise words, "he performed most astounding feats, such as
handling fed-hot iron with Id* hare Sumb. forging it itiio shape
without the iti* of tongs, pin ting it upon tils tongue, eie." Finally,
after mentioning die named ol' oilier duijngtmheti eye-witnesses,
the correspondent terminate* his account, with this statement;

After he [the negro] had concluded his performance in Dr*
Stuck"* office, I sought an opportunity to converse with him 1
found him very ignorant, not able to read or write, and m all
respect* an nnatiuberaEcd negro* His name ia Nathan Coker, and
lie is about hfry*ejght yean of age. He was (torn in ihe town ijf
Hilbhofcm jh f Caroline County, Md., and was the alave of Henry
L* ScHers of tlmt place, by whom he wa» sold to Bishop Emerv. In
relation to hi* ability to handle fire, he said: " Boss, when I was
about thirteen yean ojd, Xfassa Emery hired me out to a lawyer,
wlirwc li.Lnic was PurnclL He treated mr badly, and did noi give me
enough to eat* 1 slued around the kitchen one day, and when the
. unk left. Shot in., dipped my I Land into the dinner pot, and p idled
ui a red-hot dumpling, The boiling water did not bum, and 1
could cat the hot pudding without winking; so after d,n 1 often goi
my dinner dot way* 1 has often got the hot fat off the boiling
wan r and drank it, 1 drink my coffee when it h boiling and it
do cs not give me half <*? much pain as it dors to drink a glass of cold
water. I always like it jmt as hot as 1 can get it.”

When further qtiniioned die nearer added;

,J 1 often lake my iron out of the forge with my hand when mb
hot, but it don't hum. Since I wai a ItuU; boy I have never been
afraid tu handle fire.”

It is unfortunate tliat 1 am only able to quote this account at
second- or quite posriul at third-hand. It appears in Tht Spirite d
Mogitif* tor January tttja (pp. 15-181. and no port of idefence
is given to the precise number of the Nriv Yvrk Herald in which
presumably it first saw the light* Very probably it liad been
copied in an American rpiritualhifc journal and through that

HUVIAN iALU)

iB I

channel had found its way to England. Xone the less I have litUc
doubt of its genuineness, Maryland is not so far distant from New
York that the New Twk Htrcld could fail to eircukilt there, and the
me □ lion of die names of a score of residents, together with those of
die circuit judges and a sheriff, would be sure to provoke emphatic
protests if the account had been a hike On the other hand the
Spiritualists could have had no motive for inventing such a story.
It docs not nay a word about spiritualistic influences or medium-
ship. The negro's gift is represented as a purely natural faculty
which was, of course, free from r ranee or anything of the sort.
But there will be occasion to say more of the insensi bility of certain
entranced mediums to the action of fire when we come to deal
wkh the two other classes of immune persons who have already
been mentioned above.

In the light of such cases as those already died of the Ore-cater
Richardson and the negro of Maryland to which many other
examples might be added—it seems difficult to declare positively
that a miracle if- necessarily involved when human iler-h in contact
with fiame sustains no injury. But onr Item ration must unr|nts-
itanably be augmented when account is tnfccti of the feats of
spiritu.: Eh dr mediums and of the records of firewall ceremonies
among primitive peoples, I propose in the pages which follow to
call attention to some well-authenticated examples of both these
classes of abnoiiuol phenomena.

So far as regards the former cstegurv one naturally turru tn the
record of Daniel Dunglas Home, who b specially remembered for
this kind of exploit. Tint it should be premised that he was neither
the first noi by any means the only medium to offer thrith n moni-
frsr.ifions. Thai such incidents did rake place at Horned stances
b established by a mass of evidence w hich it is impossible to reject.
On more than twenty occasions his immunity from injury when in
contact with red-hot coals was attested by witnesses of the highest
standing, and, what is even mtnr striking, he was able to impart
the same immunity tu those who had faith and were willing tn take
burning objects from his hands* From the many records available
one may elirjotc olmmc ai random an incident recorded by the late
Earl of Dufiraveft then Lard Adore, in j cun tempo ran, account

T&t i'Jf£ PKVin^AL PKJLSQUHNA, W WYSTtOHH

of a stance held on November 30* 1 868, at Mrs, Hemming' house
at Norwood Alter some preliminary visit* to the fireplace and
poking die fire* Home, entranced—

went back to the fire, and wilh his bands noted ihr embers into a
flame; then kneeling down, hr placed hit face right among the
burning coals, mmins; i* about a; though bathing it in water.
Tli fin, getting up, hr held hb finger I nr wane time in the flame of
1 lu* candle. Presently he took I he nunc Jump of coal he hud
ptrvi. ualj handled aiid came over to ui, blowing upon it to make
ii brighter,, Mr then walked slowly round the table, and said,
,H [ want to see which uf you will be (lie beii subject, Alt I Adore
Will be the taMcM, because he tuts hern must with Dan T.r. ( hinisrlt]."
Mr. Jeuckm held out his band, saying, “ Put it In mine / 1 Home
said, '*No, touch It and MS " : lie touched it wit It the dp of ilia
linger and burnt Himself. Home then held it within four or five
indies of Mr. Sari's and Mr. Hart's hands, and they roilH nut
endure the heat. He came to mr and said, “ Now, il you arc not
afraid, bold nut your hand.” I did so and having made two
rapid pav^j over iny hand, hr placed the ro,d in it, I must have
held it fur hull a minute, long enough in have burned mv hand
fearfully; the coal felt scarcely want*. Home then !«jk it away,
Laughed and r’cetn-ed much pleased. A* be was going l>ack tn die
fire-place, he suddenly turned round and said, “ Why, just fancy,
some of them, think that only dhc aide of the ember wns hot,” lie
told me to make a hollow or bush my hands; 1 did so, and he
placed the coal in them, and t hen put both of hjs on the top of the
coat, 50 that U was completely covered by our four hands, and we
held it there some time. Upon Tibs occasion hardly any heat nt all
could be pr [reived. L

It should he minted out that the Lord Adore who, at the age of
twenty-seven, wrote this account for the benefit of his father I'a
convert to Catholicism) was by no mean' an intellectual nonentity.*
Moreover, l^fore the destriptkni jurt quoted was primed in 1870.
it was submitted to all dime who had taken part in the seance,
vis., Mrs. Hemming*, Mr. H. Jciiekcu* Mr, Hart and Mr. Sarl„
and " the aunvrts in every ease were in the affirmative as to the
correctness of the contents/' Kb less weight must be accorded to

* H-xfienrufra irnth //. fi. Hamt fS.P.Jl Edition, 1934,1, pp. 135-t).

1 Jiee*, ill ibe r hatrttr w lu«tilv F.J<uiRa!icni, p 196.

UL'MA\ JUtAStAJtoEPJ 10^1

the testimony of Lord Lindsay, afterwards 26th Earl of Crawford
and Balcarra. Now Lord Undciy hi 1869 stated far the inTormn-
non of the Committee of the Dialectical Society, who were holding
an mvdtigadoo as to [he reality of the alleged spiritualistic
phenomena:*

1 have fnetjumtly teen Home, when in a trance, go to the fue
Anr.l lake -jut Lit gr rcd-|i -ji viwth, and mrry them aboul in iih
han. 3 ^ put them inside hh shirt, etc. Eight rimes I have mv*c!f
hold a red-hot coal tn my liands without injury, when it scorched my
face on raising my hand. Once, t wished to see if they really
would hum, and 1 said to, and touched a end with the middle
linger ofmy right hand, and I got a blister as Large as a dsptnrc'

I instantly asked him to give me the coal, and 1 held the part that
burnt me m the middle of my hand, for three or four minutes,
without 1 hr lease iriccmvent, nee, A few weeks ago. I was at .1
seance with eight others. Of these, seven held a red-hot ooaJ
without pain, and the (wo others* could not bear the approach ofh ■
of lfie seven, four were Indies.

It is hard to believe that Lord Lindsay was hallucinated, or
lying, and hardly less difficult to suppose (hat on each of these
eight occasions Home was successful in slipping in, as Fodmort
sugpjti, a thin clinker or a pad of ashes between the burning coal
and the hand. Abo, if he put an innocuous substitute inside his
own shirt, what became of the real red-hot coal in the meantime ?
Red-hot coals have a way of betraying Lb dr presence to more
tctiaea than that of sight if they are left lying on carpets or thrown
into water. But what I would more especially inriit upon is tint
jtodadty of all this playing about with (ire. There seems to have
beta very little of the daredevil, dthcr physically or morally, In
the normal Heme when not entranced. Think of the social ‘ruin
to which he exposed himself If anything lad gone wrong, Mr,
Jencfcen stated: " Only within theie Jan few riavs, a metal bell
heated to redness in the fire, was placed im a ladyV head without
causing injury/ 1 and. In the case of another lady tm a different
occasion, a red-hot coal “ was dropped/ 7 she Uid, " on 10 my
white muslin dress, where it remained for some seconds, as it was
» hot we all feared to touch it My dress though made of the
finest muslin was not ignited, and we even failed to detect ihe

I R+fxwi *f tht DiaUtitd Swvtft Ctnmilittt m SfHnttzdltm (l0ji), p, sofi,

TJifTrr were ituie pcr*uiu fn-omt t.n LnTm ^ ]f .

184 THE FHYHCAI. PHENOMENA OF MYSTICISM

slightest trace or murk of any kind after examination." 1 Nothing
was dearer to Home than the vogue he enjoyed in aristocratic
circles, but if a lady had had to carry a scar for the rest of her life,
or had liad her dress set on fire as the result of one of these experi¬
ments, he must have known that such an incident would not easily
have been forgiven or forgotten.

Perhaps the most famous of all D. D. Home’s fire experiments
was the occasion when, in the presence of several witnesses, he
drew out of a blazing fire with his hands “ a huge lump of live
burning cool" so large that he had to hold it in both hands, and
then deliberately placed it on the head of his friend, the aged
Samuel Carter Hall, F.S.A., for many years editor of Tht Art
Journal. Someone said, " Is it not hot ? " and Mr. Hall answered,

V\ arm, but not hot. \\ hereupon Home proceeded " to draw
up Mr. Hall’s white hair over the red coal, the coal, still red,
showing beneath the hair." Mrs. Hall, his wife, afterwards had
the coal [which some of those present attempted to touch, but then
shrank back after burning their fingers) placed in her own hand.
She also found it warm but not unbearable.* But let me take a
final illustration of Home’s extraordinary gift from another source.
In Stainton Moses* notes—the notes were written immediately
afterwards—of a stance which took place at Miss Douglas’ house,
81, South Audley Street, on April 30, 1873, we are told how after
various phenomena with the accordion and with materialized
hands which were both felt and seen—

Mr. Home went to the firc-pDce, removed the guard, and sat
down on the hearthrug. There he seemed to hold a conversation
by signs with a spirit. He repeatedly bowed, and finally set to
work to mesmerise his head again. He ruffled his bushy hair until
it stood out like a mop, and then deliberately lay down and put
bis head in the bright wood fire. The hair was in the blaze, and
must under ordinary circumstances have been singed off. His head
was in the grate and his neck on a level with the top bar. This was
repeated several times. He also put his hand into the fire,
smoothed away the wood and coal, and picked out a live coal]
which he held in Isis hand for a few seconds, but replaced soon]
saying the power was not sufficient. He tried to give a hot coal
to Mr. Crookes, but was unable to do it. He then came to all of us

* Rtport, pp. I jf> and 370.

• See Sin Hull'* letter primed to Ixicd AcUrr’s book. S P R

pp. *8o~i- Mr Hell writes hioaelf in Afcptoar (18691. p 8,

edition,

HI:X: A M HiLAitANEE Si ‘

185

to satisfy us that there was no smell of lire on his hair, There wa*
absolutely none* ITie smell of fire had not passed on him, 1 * 1

Bdbrc Myers printed thus account in the Pr«*idingi vfth* S.PJt t
fie consulted Sir William (then Mr,) Crookes as to its accuracy.
1 hr ktttr replied dn March 9, [893, in the following terms;

I have a distinct rccnllcciion of the scanct here described a«.d
can corroborate Mr. Sfcucijbn Moses' account. I was nut well
placed for seeing the fim pan of the " fire iri ** here recorded,
I knew, from experience, that when Home was in trance much
movement or conversation on the part of others present was
likely Ui interfere with the progress of the phenomena. My back
was to the fire and 1 did not at fim turn round to ice what he was
doing. Iking told what was 1 a king place, I looked and aw Horne
in the act of raising tils head from the fire r Probably this was the
bit occasion of tin " several times T ' it w** repcatedi a-s 1 have iw
recollection of seeing it more than oner. On rnj expressing great
disappointment at having mused this test, Mr, Hume told me to
Et’uve my seal and come with bun to the fire. He asked me U I
sliDtild lie afraid to take a live coal (ember) from bis hand. I said
1 take a if he would give it tnc. lie then put hii hand

ansvng the hot roalfi (cm ben) and deliberately picked out the bright*
<r±\ \n\ and held it in his hand for a few seconds. He appeared to
deliberate fur a time and then returned it to the grate, saying the
power was too weak, mill be was afraid I might he hurt, During
this time I was kneeling on the hearthrug, and unable to explain
isow it was he was not severely burnt. The fire was of wood, Miss
Douglas never burning coal in her reception rooms. At the conv
rnencement of the evening a log or w ood had bran put on a and this
bad been smouldering throughout the evening. My recollection
of 1 he fire is that it was not a particularly bright one.

^hat Mr. Crookes adds, seeing that he was one of the most
ramoui chemists and physicists ofhis day, b particularly interesting.

I do not [he goes on] believe in the possibility of the ordinary
skm of the hand being so prepared as to enable hot coals to be
] candied with impunity. Schoolboys' books and medieval tales

A ' V - # 9 ?* cannot Wp Cuwiyina thot Homt's

^ may have been due in put in iLe &ri ik M ^ be ka

cnra-Ecn-rd DiiurL

i86

not PHYSICAL PHENOMENA or MYSTICISM

describe how this can be doue with alum or certain other ingredients.
It is possible that the skin may be so lutrdened and thickened by
such preparations that superficial charring might take place without
the pain becoming great, but the surface of the skin would certainly
suffer severely. After Home had recovered from the trance 1
examined his hand with care to see if there were any sign of burning
or of previous preparation. I could detect no trace of injury to the
akin, which was soft and delicate like a woman’s. Neither were
there signs of any preparations having been previously applied.
1 have often seen conjurers and others luindle red-hot coals and iron,
but there were always palpable signs of burning. A negro was
once brought to my laboratory, who professed to be able to handle
red-hot iron with impunity. I was asked to test his pretensions,
and 1 did so carefully. There was no doubt he could touch and
hold for a brief time rcd-liot iron without feeling much pain, and
supposing his feet were as resisting as his hands, he could have
triumphantly passed the “ red-hot ploughshare ” ordeal. But the
house was pervaded for hours after with the odour of roast negro. 1

I will only add here that other mediums since Home’s day have
exhibited the same powers in this matter of fire immunity, though
they do not seem to have experimented quite so boldly. Some
ye>n ago 1 heard Mrs. Philip Champion dc Crespigny recount in
private conversation an experience of her own in which a log of
wood in full combustion was not only taken out of the fire by a
medium and carried round the room, but was left upon Mrs. de
Crespigny’* own hand for some seconds without Iter sustaining any
injury or inconvenience. 1 The name of this medium was Mrs.
Annie Hunter, and we may note that there have been several others
for whom the same power of liandling fire has been claimed at
various times.

I have myself heard from u friend in conversation a description
of a Fire Walk at which he had personally assisted in Ceylon within
the hut lialf-dozcn years, but whereas this last was quite normal
and in accord with the accounts published by Mr. Andrew Lang
and many oilier*, \ 1 . Leroy’s correspondent records several unusual
feature* which I do not rememlrer having met elsewhere. I will
only notice that in the Ceylon case my friend insisted much upon
the intense heat which was given out by the prepared bed of ashes

‘ Pracmftvt •/S.P.R.. Vol. IX (1893-4), PP- 307-9.

1 I }!*' <!r Crr *I i « n >’* sttirment in Prurtiu^t 5 .PM., Vol. XXXV (19*4),

human salamanders

187

Several officers and other Europeans of distinction were present at
the spectacle and chairs had been prepared for th^ m at a few yards
distance from the little lake of fire, but they found themselves
intolerably scorched in that position, and all the chairs had to be
moved back before the ceremony could proceed.

The Fire Walk of which we read in M. Leroy’s pages took place
at Mysore, a native State in southern India about 250 miles from
Madras. The account is contained in a letter sent him by Mgr.
Dcspatures, the Catholic bishop of Mysore, who was himself an
eye-witness. He had received beforehand a formal invitation from
the Maharajah requesting the pleasure of his company, as if to a
concert or a luncheon party, and with the view of fostering the
excellent relations which existed between the sovereign and his
Catholic subjects, the bishop accepted. The ceremony was fixed
for six p.m., but Mgr. Denatures, suspicious of possible imposture,
was there in good time and went to examine the preparations
beforehand. He found that a shallow trench had been dug about
a foot deep, some thirteen feet in length and a little more than six
feet in width. Hm had been filled to a depth of about nine inches
with red-wood charcoal. There was no question, he tells us. about
the genuineness of the fire; the heat which exhaled from it was
stifling. Close by was standing a Mohammedan from the north
of India who was the hero of the occasion; but the bishop points
out that the man liad had nothing to do with the preparation of
the fire-pit. Flic Maharajah, who was also suspicious of trickery,
had seen to this himself. Incidentally, one gathers, not without
surprise, that no religious significance attached to the rite in the
minds at least of the more educated natives; it seems to have been
for them, as for the European guests, simply a curious spectacle,
like the performance of a conjurer. At the hour appointed the
Maharajah with his family and suite arrived in state, and took up
a position about twenty-five yards from the trench, a fact in itself
significant of the heat evolved. After which die letter proceeds:

The Mnhammedan, according to Indian usage, came and
prostrated himself before the sovereign and then went straight to
the furnace. 1 thought that thr man was going to enter the fire
himself, but I was mistaken. He remained about a yard from the
brink, and colled upon one of the palace servants to step into the
brazier. Having beckoned to him to come forward, he made an
appeal into which he seemed to put all his powers of persuasion,
but the man never stirred. In the meanwhile, however, the

1 03 the i'HvndAL JrojowaiiW A of

Mohammedan bad draws dcoer to him, and then unatpeciedfy
taking him hy the shoulders lie pushed him into the Utile lake of
flowing lahes. For ihe Erit moment or two the Indian struggled
to get out of the fire; then suddenly the look or terror <u\ hb face
%a\x place to an astonished smile, ami he proceeded to cross l he
trench lengthwise, without haste and as if lie- were taking a COnStitu-
Tiruiid, beaming contentedly upon those who were (landing round
im either tiflt i t him, Hi,; Irei and legs w ere perfectly bare. Whrn
he got out, hii Idbw jrminu crowded round him to ask what it
fell like. Ha explanations must have btrti satIsfactoryj for one,
two, live, and limn ten of the polare household plunged into die
trench* After tills It was the turn or the bandsmen of the Mahara¬
jah's band, several of w hom were Christians* They marched into
the fire three by tltrce* At this juncture several cartloads of dried
palm-lcavw were brought down ,md thrown upon the emhrri.
They blazed up at once, breaking into tongues of ihimc higher than
a man s head* The Mohammedan indimsd others of the pa la ce
servants to pan through the flames and they did it without taking
harm. The bandsmen went through a second time, carrying their
msirtiRirrits in thru fiands arid with their sheets ot music on lop
1 noticed that the flames which rose to lick their bees bellied out
round the different parts of the iuairumrnta and only flickered
round the sheets of music without setting them on fire. There
must, I flunk* have been two hundred people who passed over the
etiiljer*, and a hundred who went right through tile middle of the
Humes. Beside me were islanding two Englishmen, the head of the
Maharajah'* police force {a Catholie), a od a dvi l engineer* They
went in ask the royal perTuission to try the experiment themadvet
ntr Maharajah told them rhm they might do it on tlirir own
teiponri I siiity. Ititn shry turned to rhe Mohammedan .uni lie
mo tinned to them to go forwufd. They crossed without anv sign of
burning. When they come back into my neighbourhood, I asked
them what they thought of it. " Well*" they said," we Telt wc were
m a furnace, bat the fire diet not barn us." When the Maharajah
stood up to mark the dose of the proceedings, the Mohammedan
who was a till standing Hose to die trench, fell writhing upon the
ground, os if in an agony of pain. He a*ked for water- they
brought it and he drank greedily* A Brahmin who stood near me
remarked: " He jfo taken upon himsdr the burning of (be fire/ 1

AH this took place* tn 1321 or 192a, m the park of die Maliara
jahi summer palace* but Mgr. Papafcma goes on to mrnfior.

mm AS 1A1*AMA_V0£.R5

*89

ihai a fortnight hi let another performance took place in the town
of Mysore itself. Many people again passed through the fire
without injury; btu at the di>se h in *pite of the Mohammedan**
warning that no other* must make the attempt, three individttil*
pushed their way in. They were badly burnt and had to be
taken to the Government hospital. The Mohammedan was held
responsible 44.ru! wils in consequence prosecuted in the courlSj
but he pleaded that the sufferers had been warned and had
disobeyed*

Speaking of the accnr, m winch he had ken present, the bishop
i cmarkj- dial some jwoplc maintained tliat they must all have heen
hallucinated but he himself emphatically rejects such A solution,

I was [he writes] in full poi>caiQn of my faculties. I went
round the trench before the proceedings began; 1 went back 10 ir
again after all over ; I spoke with those who paved through the
fire,, and I even mid a. him I Mary or two with the view of arrest ing
any exhibition of HUboiic power.*.* it wai beyond doubt a
real burning fire which consumed the charcoal and scut up in
flamra the car r loads or pfllm leaves that wtre thrown upon it, but
it wax a fire which had lost its power of injuring those who crossed it
+in+3 ,ii! shat they took with them., *. How can we account for
it all? I do not think that any material cause can explain it* Mo
expedient, at any rate, had. been employed to produce such an
effect. 1 am forced to believe in die influence of some spiritual
agency which h not God,

1'Signed* M, Dcspa lures* Bis Imp of Mysore. 1

Very comoicndably, bui with the full assem and even die
assistance of the bishop, M. Leroy has sought to obtain confirms*
don 02 tins story from others who were present* Four gentlemen,

1 wo of whom at least were Englishmen, liave obligingly answered
his questions. He tells us that In the broader features of die
account all are agreed, but in the details which would not be likely
to be noted carefully nr remain very clearly In the mind Q f A casual
observer there arc the usual discrepancies. While Mr. H, Lingaraj
Urs says that the trench was four feet wide, fifteen long and five
fret deep, Mr. Macintosh writes that it was thirty yards longf I ) p
he must presumably have meant feet, and he estimates the number
of these who passed through it at five hundred. Mr. H. Lingaraj

’ i. Lei f lent it ft 1 S-sJ-in&nJrij Off HfftVi'-W & Cat-, 10 * r , (jp. ^>*5,

*9° 71IE fuysjcai. fhehoweka or Mvmctsw

Ur* and Mr. J* C, Kolio (this List grtilkinaD it the principal oT
Mysore College) passed through the trench with their boats on,
but die fire left no trace, and they Imd no tradition of burning.

E ltiust conies that the easy confidence with which rationalist?
like Sir James Frazer dismiss the fire*waUring phenomena d<m n »l
impress me very favourably in regard to their readiness to admit
unpalatable evidence or their capacity for weighing it. " Strange
a? it mav ir*cin," say* Sir jffttij-;, in discussing ihis matter, " burnt
ait; comparatively rare* Inured from infancy to walking barefoot,
die peasants can Mcp with impunity over the flowing cJuircoal t
provided they plant their feet squarely and do not stumble, for
usage ha* '0 hardened thrjr stiloi tliat the skin it converted into a
tort oflcatherj or homy substance which is almost callom to heat.” 1
Bui a man who is pushed without warning into a bed or red-hot
ashrc docs not phmt bis Iwt Jf^uardy, neither is there any reason
to suppose that the dozen or more Europeans who are known upon
good evidence to have taken pari on different occasions b there
fire walks, had feet which were callous to heat. Still less can we
believe that Home, dr Lord Lindsay, or Mis. de Gresptguy h^r|
hardened the palm* of their hands into a sort of leathery or homy
substance which rendered them impervious to the action of fire.
I>r. B Gl.irtvill Carney, who was for many yrars the chief medical
olfic rr of the Fiji Group, and has written sundry official reports on
the conditions of life in these Islands, took a great interest in the
form of fire walk (over flagstones heated red-hot, which formerly
prevailed in that part of the world, lie writes on the snbjer i M
follows: 4

I hruc teen the Fijian fire walk dour five times and I have
examined the feet of several of the porlbrtnexs immediately aftcr-
wurds, without meeting with an* trace ofinjury, or any iraec of a
protective .ij i pi ication,

On UK occasion a boy. of fourteen or fifteen years, who was doing
sc for the first time, wa» unable to complete the jonmev round the
Em.; ftonr in the pit, cither from the heat, or from imperil know.
Irdg.- ot ..kiJI in evading the mL He hopped briskly out of the Line

°i mcn t>n lif **>« . .. die pit and l examined hi* feet then and

there. TJirre was no injury whalever to be seen, though the stones
were hot enough to have charred a pocket-handkerchief into a
fmzled black ash in a few- seconds, and some were still red-hot on
ih«r untbdd^ towards the middle of the pit. ] cannot help
1 TKt C4dr. Btogk -BrJtL- BtvAfuI. Vat IJ. p. 4 .

Ill MAM &ALAMANDER3 jgj

thinking that some physical phenomenon takes place which has not

been understood or explained. 1

It is unsatisfactory to have no solution to propound, but lam
afraid that we have to leave this, like many another problem, to be
cleared up hy those who, with fuller and more accurate evidence
before them, will be in a better position to form a judgment than
we are to-day. I am not denying that the phenomena of incom¬
bustibility may have a diabolic origin, but the mere fact that we
cannot explain them does not necessarily justify such an inference.
M. Olivier Leroy seems to me to speak wisely when he protests
against the assumption that the Mohammedan wonder-worker
patronized by the Maharajah of Mysore can only be looked upon
as a myrmidon of Satan.

' See Notts <aU Qturui, February si, 1914.

CHAPTER VII

BODILY ELONGATION

I F I Lave often inclined toa rationalisticexplanationof pheno-
m«ta commonly held to be supernatural, J nmv confess dm
my judgment in this maiter has been inlhicnced by the fact
that many analogous phenomena, attested by good evidence are
to be met with in the annals of psychical research. The levitations
of D t D. Home bear a close resemblance to the aerial Sights of St.
Joseph of Copemno, The fragrance perceived during the seances
oTSlainton Muses has a hundred parallels in ihc sweet odours which
were intermittently associated with the ecstasies of such saints as
St, Catherine de Ricci or St, Veronica Giuliani. The many
recorded cases in wtudi the Blessed Sacrament has Sown from the
* ltar or ™ of tilt priest to die lips 0 f an enraptured

communicant may be regarded as a Term of the phenomenon
familiar to psychic researcher* as “ telekinesis.” The hilocatiotu
which are related in the story of St, Alphomui Liguori or of St,
Francis Xavier, would seem to be of quite ordinary occurrence if
***? j*^ **Y ^ wmilor cases investigated by Gurney and
Myen m their Phtmittm 0 / tht Living. The luminous radiance
spoken of m the lives of mi many holy people from St, Catherine
of Siena to the Cur# d'An, 1 is also nf frequent occurrence in the
manifestations of flame, EgUntun and other mediums. Even the
remarkable ** spirit draftings " executed by *ucli pev-ple as Mr
r. L, Thompson and Mkt Heron Maxwell, who have never had
any ton of artistic teaching or practice, have thrir counterpart in
i v.n umilar drawings still preserved which were mode by the
Blessed Crwcentb Boss at ihc beginning of the eighteenth century
In otic of Creseenda J » ccitasin she had a vision of the scounrine
nf Our Lord, and at her Superior's request she described to her the
kind of implements employed. There were, according to her
account, b undlei 1 thorny Iwuglu and aho whips formed of a
number of cords which had anal! metal sickles attached to their

nKeUcnt link «tv of Jut Olivia i—*. r , .
mptrrfU dti Sdixii i Pjru. ujjfi.} “ SpUmtwf

DODILY ELONGATION

193

extremities. As a further test. Iter Superior commanded her to
draw them while she stood looking on. The poor Sister (she was
a weaver’s daughter, a destitute girl who had only been received
into the convent with reluctance as an act of charity*) had never
learnt to draw, but under obedience she set to work with a pencil
and a sheet of paper, and produced two sketches which from the
point of view of draughtsmanship arc astounding for die delicacy
and firmness of every line. Her biographer, who reproduces the
two drawings in facsimile, declares that " many thousand people,
including great artists, have expressed their astonishment that an
untrained hand could have executed such work."*

But among the phenomena of mysticism, the most impressive
and, in some sense, the most convincing, are those which are least
usiial. One cannot help suspecting that the witnesses who gave
evidence in processes of beatification may sometimes have been
expecting the manifestations they report because they were well
aware that such things often occurred in the lives of saints. Any
indication which seemed to point to stigmatization, or elevation
above the ground in prayer, or celestial radiance, or emanations
of perfume, or blood portents after death, etc., was likely to be
interpreted without discussion as something unquestionably mira¬
culous. It is, therefore, a matter specially worthy of notice when
we find some phenomenon recorded of a holy person which Is not
likely to have suggested itself to religious observers as a mark of
sanctity, but which does at the same time hold a recognized place
among the manifestations which psychical researchers have re¬
corded in recent times. The point with which I propose particu¬
larly to deal in the present chapter is the elongation of the human
body. One would, I think, be safe in saying that this is a prodigy
which no devout client would be likely to invent in order to
demonstrate the sanctity of the particular object of his veneration
Even among mediums the phenomenon is not very common. It
is true that since it was tcpeatedly witnessed in the person of
I). D. Home appeal has been made to a passage in the Xijsterift
of the Neo-Platonbt Iamblichus,* but I am not satisfied that the
pagan philosopher had in mind anything which could be strictly
described as elongation. He tells us that, in the trances of die
mystics whom he is describing, “ the body also b seen lifted up, or
increased in size, or borne along in mid air,” but it b not clear that
the word, &ioyKob/i cvoiy which some scholars want to translate
1 See I. Jcilcr, Lthtn dtt Set. KM. Cnxnrw {{&u (1674), pp. 205^6.
■See UmhHchui, D* Afytkriii (ed. G. Parthey), Pvt III. eh*p. Iv, p. tit.

1^4 TIlfL FUYlHCAt OF ttYTTICHUt

donated,'’ memni wytfring more than distended, In anv case.
!|r’ point is of nu pwfkuhur tonsn:]urate.

Let tile begin, therefore, by giving some afeolint of [he donga-
mm wmch are recorded of i3ir famous medium D. |). Home,
[hr evidence in his casr U much more -uafectorv ihun that nrc^
dured in support of any limOar claim nndc fur other medium*
It may be timed, for example, tliat when " Dr/’ Mtmeit, afterwards
convicted of fraud in a court of law, prol^rd to have been
elongated, the whole performance took place in dnrkn«.v The
fUii^ed mertase in height was only demonstiuied hv tomrone
* hr medkim ^ twsid raked above its previous position while
someone rbe professed lo guarantee that ha lower limbs remained
undistuibed in the chair on which he wa* sitting. 1 On the other
hand, flic intellectual standing of die witnesses who observed die
ctongaldma of Home, and the conditions they describe, mate a
much better impression If I ^ to keep this chapter within
reasonable limits it is only possible to quote a <maJl part of the
available cndeaitt, but I may begin by an extract from the tetter
2°f*£ RpJvfah * barrister of good reputation, lo

Tbr Spmlita! Afqgaow for January tUW. Internal evndei.ee makes
it dear that ihe incidents described had occurred onW a week or
" before tbr lr iter w« wmtrrr Mr. jtacken dedara that he h id
by that lime been present on at least five occasion* when Home
was elongated and shortened. On the evening with which we aTe
here concerned:

Lord-was «, uc a rirsl Mr. Hume who had passed into a

trance suite, in wind, after uttering most Ix-autiful and solemn
prayer, he alluded to the protecting spirits whose mision is to t Ct
as guard,.u, angels to men. " n,e one who is to protert you." he

uud, addressing Lord- - fcas mil as this." And upon „ saying

Mr Home grow taller and taller; as i ,„>od neat him (my heigh
“ " f «'> 1 llar,U )' rr '«' | wd up to ids shoulder, and in the qW
uppeei le h e appeared a full head taller than myself The c* tem™
appeared to take pine* from the wain, end the clothing separated
e phi to ten inches. Walking to and fra, Mr. Home specially
called our attcstlna to die fact of his feet being firm?
planted on the ground. He then grow .hotter and shatter „,J
he only reached my shoulder, his svaistcoat overlapping io the

1 Sr*. for eustplr, TS, M, Hu„ mi f ur .Scsemiirr „ l0 ,.

7*t Sjnnitwi Margate p, yy

BODILY KI OWOATTON

Hit Tuimr left iilimk by Mr, Jenrkrn Wat unquestionably that
of Lord Adair, for we have bit own independent account of the
same scene, which \ propose to quote a little later. But Mr.
Jfnrken also describes a similar incident which was then of even
more recent dam. Speaking tn trance, IWe p who in inch
tii-rurn?unices always referred to himself in the third person by
hia ChrUrirm name, remarked;

Daniel hiu lieeta elongatetl six rimes, lie will 1>c clontaifid
thirty times during his life v ; and tmrouruging every made of
k ling Lhe truth of this mftrvdloUa phene mejum, he made me hold

hh f«** whilst the Hull. Mr;-placed his hands mi hi* head .m l

^houl It ns, fhe elongation was repeated three timrs. twice whilst
he wag. landing. J lie extension measured on ibr wall by the Bun.
j1|| '^ !l “ showed eight inches; die extension, at the waist, as

Hi amrrd by Mr. —, was sue inches, and the third time rite

Huttgttriun nenirred, Mr. Home was seated next to Mrs. _who,

pLw'iiu; her hand on his head—and her feet on his fect^had the
iLtinnst difficulty in keeping her poailion, as Mr. Home's IkkIv grew
higher and higher; die tx'mTne extension rear hod bemgsist inches.' 1

There can be hide doubt that the person here referral to as
the Hon. Mr. , was the future 2:6th Iiarl of Crawford, then
hot known ai the Master of Lindsay. B st let me now turn to
Lord Adarc'i account of the nWe fim mentioned. Jt is given
ljj j letter his f.iliter, toe third Ear! nf Dunmven, written a few
days a fin die occurrences described, The fetter occupies several
printed pages, and it mm t suffice to quoit- fhe passage which refers
lo the elougnrion.

Homr [wrote Lord AdareJ stood up and said: “ He {the guardian
■ ;ti:h 1 very strong mid taffi" and standing there beside mt. Home
grew. 1 should say, at least six inches, Mr, Jcnclcen, who is a mlfer
nian dun Home, flood Inside him, no there could be no miitake
il> ltjE BomeLs natural height is, 1 believe. 5 feet id inches. I
hotrirt say Hi* grew to h l>rt ,j mches, nr l> feel 6 inches, 3 placed
mv hands on hi fret, and lelt thill they were fiirly level on the
ground. He had dippers m, and he said; *■ Daniel will show yon
how it is, .md lie unbuttoned hi-! coat. He was elongated from the
want upwards; there was a space of, I tuppme, four inches between
hi^ ^.ustcodt and the waist-baud t?l his trousm, He appeared

to6

TUE PHYSICAL 1* HE NOSiENA OF MYSTICISM

also to grow in breadth and in size all over, but there was no way „f
testing that. He diminished down to his natural size, and said-

Darnel will grow, tall again.” He did so, and said: " Daniel’s
feet are on the ground.” He walked about and stamped his feet
hut returned shortly afterwards to his natural size. 1

Neither its this nor in Mr. Jcncken’s account is anything said
about the light, but they were certainly not sitting in complete
arknets, for not only are Home’s movement! and gestures des¬
cribed m detail, but Mr. jencken took long notes on the spot,
recording the speech delivered by Horae immediately before the
elongation began. Moreover, in Adare’s description of some five
or six other elongations occurring in similar conditions, there is
definite mention m one case of the gas being lighted, in another
ora fire that was brightly burning, and in a third of such mcasurc-

m « nt * “ ?,° U J ^ VC ***" *> uite ridiculoui ^ere had not l>cen
sufficient dltumnauoii to be able to sec distinctly. For example
Adarc remark* concerning Home’s elongation on April 3, i860 in
the presence of six observers: * ^

While his arms appeared to be increasing in length, his chest
became grrady cx,landed, and he said to me : ” You sec how it is-
he cxtemion u from .hr chat" Hr ,hrn placed hinuelf aguin,!
.he wall. and attended hu arm. to their full natural length; I made
a penal mark a, d,e tip, of hh fmgen. Hi, left arm ™ U “n
elongated. I hr d the penefl again,, the wall. .ufTering it to be
pufhed along by hi, finger, until he told me to make another mark
Hu nght arm wo, than elongated, and I marked the movement

hr ““ trimmer. The total elongation, a, iwcertaincd Iry tlib
means, amounted to 9^ indies. 1 J

It may suffice to add to these extracts the statement made bv
the Master of Lindsay, afterwards Earl of Crawford, in his ev idence
Ta&g Committer of the Dialectical Sodety on July 6,

On another occasion I saw Mr. Home in a trance elomratrd
tnrhes 1 measured him standing up against the wall ah
marked the place; not being satisfied with that, I put him in the

"* D D lh °"' m ,hC AWt. VoL

* Dunravm Ksptnnm ou/A D. D. Homt, p. 339

BODILY ELONGATION

*97

middle of the room and placed a candle in front of him, so as to
throw a shadow on the wall, which I also marked. When he was
awake I measured him again in his natural size both directly and by
the shadow, and the results were equal. I can swear that he was
not off thr ground or standing on tiptoe, as I had a full view of Itis
feet and. moreover, a gentleman present had one of his feet placed
over Home’s insteps, one hand on his shoulder, and tile other on his
side where the false ribs come near the hip-bone.

Miss Douglas, another witness to Home's phenomena, who
corroborated these statements, having been asked by one of
the Committee how she could be sure that Home was not standing
on tiptoe, replied: ” He stood in the middle of the room where
all could see.” At a later stage of the same sitting, the Master of
Lindsay, answering further questions as to the manner of the
elongation, explained:

The top of the hip-bone and the short ribs separate. In Home
they are unusually close together. There was no separation of the
vertebra: of the spine; nor were the elongations at all like those
resulting from expanding the chest with air; the shouldcn did not
mow. Home looked as if he were pulled up by the neck; the
muscles seemed in a state of tension. He stood firmly upright in
thr middle of thr room, and before the elongation commenced I
placed my foot on his insiep. I will swear he never moved his
heels from the ground. \Nhcn Home was elongated against the
wall, Lord Adare placed his foot on Home’s instep, and I marked
the place on the wall 1 once saw him elongated horizontally
along the ground. Lord Adare was present. Home seemed to
grow nt both ends, and pushed myself and Adare away.*

There « a good deal more similar evidence, and it is noteworthy
that on some occasions Horne’s body not only expanded but con¬
tracted. Mr. Jencken in particular declares, " I have witnessed
Mr. Home shrinking down to about five feet,”* and Lord Adare
also speaks of his being " shortened to less than his natural height.”*
What I would specially insist upon is that we cannot treat such
witnesses as Lord Adare and the Master of Lindsay as if they were
mere nincompoops, even though they were both young men.
Adare, in 1869, was twenty-eight years of age. He had acted as

1 DiaU:tLaI t Report on Sfriritsailutn (*871), pp. 307 ami 214.

1 Ibid., p. 119. • Duaravm. Ezptrienrrt, p. ioq.

198

the physical phenomena or mysticism

vv.»r correspondent for the Daily TtUgraph in Abyssinia in 1867
he wa« to represent the same journal in Paris during the siege and
at a later date he served on two occasions as Undcr-Secreury of
Ute for the Colonies. 1 hr Master of Lindsay was younger, but
before he became Earl of Crawford, he was elected F.R.S. in 1870
“ the ace of thirty-one. He was then already President of the
Royal Astronomical Society, and later on he became a trustee of
the British Museum and an Honorary Associate of the Prussian
Academy of Sciences. These are not distinctions which fail to the
lot of cranks or silly enthusiasts, even though they be men of wealth
as Crawford was.

But I must turn now to die evidence for similar elongations in
the case of mystics. The dearest example which 1 have met with
u to tie found in the printed Summmum' of the depositions sub¬
mitted to die Congregation of Rites in view of die hoped-for
beahf,cat.au of Si,ter Veronica Laparclli. a nun who died u! ifao,
at the age of eighty-three. Her ecstasies were very remarkable
fosung sometimes for as much as three days, and her follow!
Religious asserted positively dial on certain occasions she had been
seen raised above the ground in p ravcr . While she was still living
a nun, Suor Marghcnta Corttmesi. who, at a later date, »a
elected abbess, drew up a record of these unusual happenings
which is etted in the process referred to. One extract from this
document runs as fallow*;

On one occasion, among others, when she [Verouical being in
the trance state was reriting her Office alternately with rome
invisible being, die was observed Rradually to stretch out until the
length oi her throat seemed to be out of all proportion [tarn*
lungajmn dt muun i„ such a way that she w« alto-
gciher much taller than usual. Wc, noticing this strange occur¬
rence, looked to see d.lic was raised from the ground, but this so
far as our eyes could tell, was not the case. So, to make ntre.’wc
lw ' , >A*'d*measure [rflmwj and measured her height, and after,
wards when site had come to herself we measured her again and
she was at least a “ span " [,e„ inches or more, shorter. This „

,V,Ul ° Ut aWU 111 ° r nu “ who were in the

v2.tr " W under Uw

* iarnmiman* (Rome. 1747}, p. 144.

BOAILY ELONGATION j

Agciiu, in ihc some process, we have die deposition of .t brh.
Donna Hortenzia Ghini, who, in 1623, stated on oath:

Sister Lisubetta FancraKi, formerly a nun in the same convent,
lold me that on one occasion, seeing that the said Siairr Veronica
when in ecstasy seemed talJcr than in her normal stale, the took a
yard-measure [caniur] and measured her height, and that after dir
said Stater \ cronica come to herself she measured her «g»i^ with
the said yard-measure, and she found that she was half an arm 7 *
r«» W- r -:^*wrio] shorter; r,nd this I know because l heard
ihn -said Sister iiaabetta say it, u> f mentioned above . 1

The m m r . Fidii t or * DoiT* Advocate,** whose business it is
Lti Such cts« to raise difficulties, professed to be somewhat shocked
b y | ftis nia tu 3 csmfitmz

Jurihermore Hie eornmcnlsj wr may iujIc a certain unlikelihood
incongruity in [he Jau as stated in die Sutnmnttum that on one
ficcasion 51 the bod) nf Ole servant of God, when in ecstasy, stretched
om and grew beyond natural measure, while Other witmr ^
extend ihe same phenomenon to occasions when die wa> praving
without any ecstasy*

He goes on to remark dint this elongation was not only in-
tnmkaUy improbable, but that it could stive no purpose of edified-
tion or utility. It could not benefit the servant of God herself,
and would t*dtc repulsion and alarm rather than devotion in die

“Atf, p. 141.

■ Of M«hrr Plautilla Sanboli* * nut), wl® rave evident

a V 7 gn i tll f; w " w ™iy’four yem* of age, tell* ui iluu « my kir fcihrr.

Jfh^S ^wUMTr *nd lie Mud ID me, * Loot W WX uluu
k* VciWMa J 1 * 1 undyr her km**, for «hr «t« m me )Er be taftrr

OMn ber onhuiTy - «*• * itoeupon put my hml under tier bu* and

' , < ■to* fi™*nd” Tb» mdifcnt *Wd CftU*

to begwrfal ta mma ihe nmy la which Ok wii-

UM Mmlv uijbat vtf& owrm odd ni/ uj ” Silt™ Veronica w« m>i raised
,r, / to WM i n . ^ dunfllted. Had tli^y jdilsd tUr Itnlmony of

p ”****torice ipdllkiofi, &wr rftnrd wcrnld be more valuable/ II
2“ L™ rr . r,1 5 fl, ^ cn ^, ^ *■ nu|i “* kneeling potture were railed trn inch** off

haljal f^tody will temmin ir&ilbg 04 the ground,
Anl ^tetl would be that recorded hr another witnmt, li^S
ftUadaJena who aaJd thkt on another otcaiion w ot» of the muu .iok a

ick anil pasKd u mxlw tlm km of ih^ *a !4 5 qor Vcrodita* » [bat tbe pettple
pit^tru might ace that in her ecuaty ihe wa« raised above ih^ round "
" 11111 the caw tv Jevjlatiyti weaken 1 that for dongatkni. J JT.a

200

THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF MYSTICISM

beholder. These are very sensible observations, but they also go
some way to prove the unlikelihood that die story was merely
invented by die nun* without any foundation in fact.*

It may be admitted that one would be glad to have more precise
and detailed evidence, but the consideration that the cause of the
candidate for beatification was not likely to be advanced by the
narration of unrecognized phenomena which were more suggestive
of the acrobat than of the saint, may have checked any keen interest
in die subject. One would be almost inclined to treat these
recollections of Veronica's Religious Sisters as without significance
were it not for the fact that traces of a similar elongation phene*
menon are found elsewhere. For example, in the Life of Mother
Maria Costamc Castreca wc hear of a fellow-novice of hers who
came to tell the confessor. Don Filippo Gionantonj, a strange thing
which she had seen. She reported that while Maria Costantc was
praying before a statue of the Infant Jesus she had watched her
grow a considerable height from the ground, becoming a tall
woman, while her whole body was a-trcmble-* This had hap¬
pened somewhere about the year t 7 oo. Canon Buti, her bio-
grapher, was a contemporary, and as he had in his keeping the
copious notes which her confessor Gionantoui had taken for manv
years, we may regard the incident as fairly well attested. One
cannot feel quite the same confidence in the details which are
given ot the mystical phenomena of the Venerable Domenica dal
Parade, who lived two centuries earlier. The imposing volume
Which was published at Florence iu t 7 tq from the pen of B M
Borghigiam contains many extravagances the sources of which arc
not easy to trace. StiU, there may be some foundation for a
Statement nudf by him iu tbr following t erm s;

Amongst the other remarkable features which have l*ren
recorded concerning that intoxication of divine love from which
Domenica suffered, one was this, that the Spouse of Christ was
made to appear a taller woman than she ready was. Castiglfone
1 Atne»CiL*rn*nj in the tame Proocm, p. 13

SXitSL*-"

••' Rtf-ri al medmmo oonfam di averla vrtlura ,loru a.

Etcouiau lun^a con trtmarl? tutu U viu.'* Bun, I'ua <UUc KU 4,1 <’ . ! /f*™
Cum*, Fahnano ( 1 743). p. 341. ’ Msdn C"*** Mmi*

BODILY ELONGATION

20!

her director, noticed the same thing happen in many other ecstasies,
though she returned to her normal stature afterwards, as soon os she
was herself again. 1

Something of the same nature seems to have been observed in
Dotncnica’s contemporary, the Dominican nun, Blessed Stcfana
Quinzani. One of the most remarkable hagiographies! documents
ever printed b the account of one of Stdana’s Friday ecstasies,
drawn up with all legal formalities and signed and sealed by
twenty-one ecclesiastics and gentlemen of distinction who had
witnessed the whole series of scenes of the Passion enacted in her
person. Only one detail, however, b directly relevant to our
present subject, an incident connected with the fastening to the
crews. After enduring the scourging at the pillar and the crowning
with thorns, the ccstatica seems to have thrown herself on the
ground:

The right arm [wc arc told] b extended as if the hand were
being really and immovably nailed, and at once the muscles [nrrvi]
arc seen stretched and tense, the veins swell and the hand grows
black, and just as if it were indeed being fastened with a material
nail, she utters a terrible shriek [jjnifo] followed by a piteous moan-
ln J»* Then the left is extended in a similiur manner to the right,
but stretched considerably beyond its natural length [assai sopra la
lungag in* lua natural*}.*

Thu elongation of one limb might seem to be a different matter
from the growth of six inches or more in suture such as Home’s
intimates have described for us above, but the primitive text of the
contemporary Life of Blessed Stefana, which has been printed for
the first time only in recent years, tells something more. From
^ cr c °ofrssor, who b the author of thb memoir, and who infor m*
us that he had bem familiar for five yean with the weekly ecstasy
in which she enacted the scenes of the Passion, we learn that when
the right hand was, in imagination, pierced, her whole frame seemed
to contract in that direction, and that when the left arm appeared
to be dragged by violence to the opposite side “ her bosom was
clearly seen to open. ' I find it hard to decide whether thb only
means that the garment which she wore was stretched and possibly

* Borgiuffiotu. Vila MU VmrrakiU Sfvss di Gin. .Saar Domna dal Paradia.

P- . a 72 He speaks of " tl far companre la Sputa dl Cristo di mienrr ait-aaa
ch dla non era."

* Cemfmdis dtUa Hu MLm B. Sujana Qvntmi (Parma, 1784), p. Co.

302

THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA Of MYFnCTtW

torn by the strain, or whether the writer wished to suggest that
there was some sort of physical rupture in the sternum and the
adjacent tissues. 1 give in a footnote the Italian text which at
any rate states plainly that the bosom was distended. * The arms,
it is stated, became so rigid that, as we learn both from her bio¬
grapher and from the twenty-one witnesses mentioned above, no
man, though he used all his strength, could in the smallest degree
bend or move them. We are also told that although, while these
suffering* lasted, her features showed an extraordinary emaciation,
Stefana became plump and round-laced {grassa t pitna) as soon as
ever the ordeal was at an end.*

A similar and even more curious example of the alleged elonga¬
tion of one limb meets us in the printed text of the Vila t Dotlrina
dt Santa CaUrina da Genova. In the terrible period of physical
torment which preceded the death of the Saint, her spiritual
daughter and handmaid, Argentina, told how she suffered intense
pain in one aim M in such wise that the ami grew more than half
a palm longer than it was by nature.”* It u true tlial this is one
of the passages of the Vita t Dattrina which are not found in the
earlier manuscript texts and that Baron F. von Hugd contests
their reliability on tlut ground. I may confess, however, that 1 am
not convinced, as I liave explained elsewhere, bv the line of argu¬
ment he has adopted.

Finally, without m a k i n g any claim to produce another case of
elongation, I venture, nevertheless, to direct attention to certain
phenomena recorded of the French atigmatis^e Marie-Julie
Jahenny. Although Dr. tmbcrt-Gourbeyre, who describes them,
was in historical matters quite uncritical, still he was at the time
a professor in a school of medicine of good standing, and lie had
retained this post for many yean. He informs us that in the
autumn ol itt&o, Marie-Julie habitually passed into a state of
ecstasy or trance three times a week. In these ecstasies she fore¬
told what particular form of suffering awaited her in her next spell
of unconsciousness. On Friday, September 24, 18O0, she gave

* “ Fu mam da poj cl imutro bru/o tn
* muggiti. cl per exau ffaatlo cl cot(ip ir
che aprrtamrntn w vnlrvn rl prrto hi
bonmauinaittrntr. impert che *r vedrn
tl petto v diUu.a, c< ft«mo li bcazi |x~r
mon<k> may %r pofcaarro d’alchune peno
Diactti A Bnt-ix, Serio t (igjo*. p- 105.

* hid, p 114

* Mia * DtOrim {rd, p 168

w jor.-a rum audh nitilemi midori
1 * hi per tal modo qurtto brazo trato
*P rI,rr ' 0(10 obflanir fuue coocrtw
‘ tume-lU dilatam jrcundo die

ul mod., fimuti ebr per uiutta via del
oe UKATfr.*' See Mnmtru Stanch, 4,11a

BODILY ILLONUATJON

503

warning that on the following Monday in expiation of the sins of
mankind committed during the previous month, her body would
Ixr compressed and Iter limbs shortened, while her tongue would
be swollen beyond measure. Dr. Imbert determined to be present,
and five other persons of credit, one of them a priest, also assisted
at the scene. He describes how, when the trance came on, Marie*
Julie's head seemed to sink into Iter body, while the shoulders
notably protruded above it. Her whole frame shrank together
into a sort of hull. After that there was an extraordinary move¬
ment of each shoulder in succession so dial it seemed to stand at
right angles to die collarbone. The tongue swelled to an in¬
credible size. forcing itself out of the mouth between the clenched
teeth. This was followed by u prodigious dilation of the whole of
the right side of the body from die arm-pit to the hip. Dr. Imbert
rould feel through the nightdress that the left side of the trunk hud
dirunk to practically nothing. All these physical transformation!
succeeded each other with a certain deliberation, but in so short a
space of time that Dr. Imbert, speaking as a pathologist, was
positive in affirming that medical science could offer no explanation
of them. 1 It does not seem unreasonable to suppose diat this
variation in the hulk and form of organic structures may be of
substantially the same nature as the phenomenon of elongation.

I o draw any firm conclusion from such isolated happenings as
those which I have here tried to bring together, is not easy. On
die one hand, only a very robust scepticism will maintain that the
alleged phenomenon has no better foundation than the hallucina¬
tion of the oljserver. On the other, it would certainly require a
great deal more evidence than we as yet possess to establish a
presumption that such elongations as have been here described
must be attributed to a preternatural cause, to the action, in fact,
of cither God or the devil The one feature which is common to
all the alleged examples b that diese phenomena are only met with
ill die state of trance, ts it possible that in dm condition certain
vital processes, such as metabolism, etc., are capable of modifica¬
tions of which science as yet knows little or notliing > In some
susceptible subjects cataleptic conditions can undoubtedly be in¬
duced under hypnotism. Does anyone pretend to know precisely
how this happens ?

I have not yet met wfib a single case of stigmatization in a
subject who was previously free from neurotic symptoms. There
is a presumption in every instance that the recipient of the stigmata

1 ImbcM-Courtwyrc, Lm V«L U, pp. 131-6,

204

THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OP ITOTtCmi

w " highly suggestible. and now there has come to hand, quite
r^f fllI> 4 n * hM f klct describing the case oT the Lutheran girl Eliza-
be«i, 1 he subject u an Austrian peasant girl, apparently with no
vicious propensities, but by nature religiously minded. She was

U , ,cl had J brai an inma,e of 9amc hmlMottn
di&rent Kluuks, where under hypnotic treatment she recovered
sufficiently to l>c fit to go to work again, hut soon after relapsed
and had once more to go to hospital. She was for some time
under the care of Dr. Itchier, who has published this detailed
account, and he finally decider! tn take her into Ids own house as
a domestic servant, so that hr could still study the case and give

’ ,1C T lcd - T1,e Inml fact U L.

on Good Friday .93a she went lo a cinema where some M rt of

rcprewuitarion of the Passion of our Lord was realistically depicted.
On returning home the doctor saw that she hatl been very intemely
affected, and she complained of pain in Iter hand, andfcel. The
idea the., came to him of hypnotising the girl, as he frequently
used hypnotism with her in his treatment, and of giving a direct

3KS th "* h * “• ? ur «-"» hands and fret pierced

with nails. Tiie suggestion had to be renewed more than once

but it was entirely successful, and in this booklet Dr. laxlmer
reproduces photographs bod. of the palms of the hands ami X
iota of the feet with tile wounds. Subsequently, by further

ftJfTfmm IT ,nduced " cond , ia,,n h> which tears of blood streamed
fJ^,«i‘ C CV “ “a- 0 wl, 'Ct> bleeding puncture, appeared on
the forehead corresponding to the crown of thorns. ITicre also
supervened an inflamed condition of the shoulder caused by her
imaginary carrying of the cross. Of a wound in the ride* if |
m is tak e not, nothing it said. *

The photographs have ever)* appearance of being a trustworthy
record of the results obtained. I see no presuSLptbHTZ
imposture, unless the fact that the book is written apparently^
the hope of arresting the stream of conversions to Catholicism
caused by the wide discussion of the phenomena a, KonnersrruT
should f>e regarded os matter of suspicion. On the other hand’
Dmn Magcr, a Benedictine professor at Salzburg, quotes the book
with entire confidence, and 1 know of other Catholics interested
m the subject who regard this publication as of the .TcateM^
portu.ee m ns bearing on .be case of Theresa Ncumanm
I need not say that I am quite incompetent to discuss the
logical aspects of the case in its early stages. I don’t r« \
with sufficient facility to wade through page, and page, of techS

BODILY ELONCATION

205

description. The theory of a luxation of the lumbar vertebne and
injury to the spinal cord ( Wirtxlrmutkung or RucktnmarkjctrUlzvng)
ha» tor at least lix year* past hern very severely criticized by
Dr. Ewald and othen. Unfortunately* in this out-of-thc-wav
village no radiograph was ever taken. No one in the early stages
of Theresa» illness could foresee the importance the case was
afterwards to assume. My only contribution to the subject lies in
a somewhat discursive study of the numerous other coses, some
fifty or sixty altogether, where wc have a detailed description of
stigmata and of the circumstances in which tliey occurred. The
impression left upon me has been that the subjects who were so
favoured or afflicted were all suffering from pronounced and often
extravagant hysterical neuroses. Many of them were intensely
devout (of course it is only in the case of people whose thoughts
were concentrated on religious motives that one would expect to
find this type of manifestation) but in others piety was combined
with eccentricities and with apparent dissociations of personality
wluch were very strange and not exactly edifying. I find it difficul t
to believe that OixJ could have worked miracle? to accredit such
people us His chosen friends anil representatives.

Vrith regard to the fact of the bleeding wound-marks in hands,
feet and side of wluch we read in the accounts of Theresa Neumann
and a multitude of othen, there cannot be a shadow of doubt.
These wounds could not be artefact (though there are not infre^
quern cases of such delil>cratc imposture). Theresa lias often beer,
under observation during the whole time the ecstasy and bleeding
have developed. Medical opinion was slow to admit the reality
of stigmata as a demonstrated fact. A great discussion took place
in the ’seventies of the last century' over Louise Lateau. Many
eminent pathologists, amongst others Professor Virchow, declared
that the whole thing >vns trickery (Bttrvg). In the case of Theresa
Neumann we liavc not only the bleeding wounds, but wc have
other phenomena, the most noteworthy of which is the alleged
abstention from all fo»xl and drink, except the Blessed Sacrament,
which has now (1933) lasted for six years. Further, it » claimed
that she pronounces upon the aulliemidty of relics (hierognosis)
and may read the secret thoughts of tliose who visit her. I do not
propose to discuss this aspect of the question. I onlv know that
it has been stated tliat the same relic has been pronounced by hei
on one occasion to lie authentic and on another occasion to be
spurious. I have no means of getting at the truth. Still more
remarkable is the assertion that in her visions she echoes aloud the

206

TT1F. PimtCAl PHENOMENA OP WYVnCISM

«l»uu of live crowd and repeats fragments of their conversation.
A distinguished Catholic professor of Semitic language*, Fr. Wutt,
declares that the word* tan l>c recognized as Aramaic words
belonging to the popular speech of Palestine in the time of our
Lord. It may be so, but it would require a very thorough
investigation to determine the fact satisfactorily.

Perhaps the most inexplicable of all these phenomena is the fast,
and 1 mini own that it ha* impressed me considerably to find tliat
a Lutheran psychiatrist, Dr. Lechler, who has been mentioned
already, accepts the fact of the fast without any reserve. In hi*
booklet Das Rixtul con hormersreulh im LichU tints nrurn Fuller n>n
S/ifmatiuUion, he writes: " The fact which in my judgment scents
to admit of no doubt, that Theresa since 1927 has taken no nourish¬
ment, tint even the least sip of water, without at the same time
losing weight or showing signs of exliaustion, will be regarded by
unbelievers as a vary startling phenomenon. Can this also Ik? the
result of a mental condition? If Theresa’s stigmata can be explained
by autosuggestion, the conclusion readily offers itself tliat her
attention from food has a similar origin. She has long been
aware that such fasts are recorded of many devout Catholics.”

Dr. Lechler then refers to the ease of Blessed Nicholas von Ftoe
who b said to have taken neither food nor drink for twenty years.
But he lived in the fifteenth century, and there arc other examples
more recent and better attested, even if not quite so prolonged.
Tlu*i of Anne Catherine Emmerich, which he also quotes, U more
convincing. Theresa, he contends, must have persuade:! henclf
that she, who received dir Blessed Sacrament daily, needed no
bodily food, while she also saw clearly that such abstinence was 4
liirnt homily to the world, proving that with die abiding presence
of the Body of Christ man had little need of material nourishment.
It is stated by Kaplan Fahscl, Canon de Hovre and others that St.
Therfae of Lirieux on the anniversary of her death (30th September
1927) appeared to her namesake, clothed as a Carmelite, and told
Iter definitely that die no longer needed any earthly food.

On die question of this intdta 1 am not at all sure that I shall
have the support of anyone wIki reads this chapter. Writing in The
Monlh more than twenty-eight year* ago, I ventured to propound
the opinion dial this claim of supporting life by the Blessed Sacra¬
ment alone, a claim which has been made for many holy people, is
not illusory. It is, I hold, an lustorical fact that such complete ab¬
stention from both food and drink lias continued in a imml>cr of
cases for a long period of years but that it is not necessarily to be

BODII.Y EUONUATION

207

considered of supernatural origin. There is evidence that with
Anne Catherine Emmerich, Domcnicn Lazzari, anti Louise Latcau,
all stigmaticas in tltc last century, it lasted for over ten years, but
there are numerous other examples of such inrdia, less well attested,
and others again more satisfactory but for shorter periods, though
always for twelve months or more. In adhering to this view, 1
may say iliac I have derived much encouragement from two non-
Catholic examples. The first is that of Mollic Fancher of Brooklyn,
in which, though the fast was not quite absolute, her doctors, who
had the fullest opportunity of observing the rase, declared publicly,
first in 1878 after twelve yean and again in 1893 when the absti¬
nence liad continued for another long period of years, that the
" had lived for years together without sustenance enough to feed
a baby for a week." As the patient was completely paralysed and
for a large part of that time had always someone sitting with her
at night, they must have twren able to learn whether tliere were
any excreta. But I cannot go into details here. The other case
is much more recent. In the booklet just mentioned, published in
1933, Dr. Lechler discusses the phenomena ofhis patient, Elizabeth,
a pious Lutheran girl, afflicted with all sorts of hysterical neuroses.
Concerning the nutrition of his patient, he says: " During the
period of Elizabeth’s illness it surprised me that when for six weeks
together it was necessary to feed her artificially, owing to her
refusal of all nourishment, she did not in that time lose any weight
but actually gained half a pound. Considering the limited amount
of food which could be administered in tliat way, a more healthy
subject would undoubtedly have shown signs of wasting. When
I, later on, aiked her in the hypnotic state what was the cause of
this unexpected result, she told me that she was at that time terrified
at the idea of death. Since she was afraid that if she grew thin she
would be sure to die, she had kept on repeating to herself day and
night ** 1 must not lose weight.”

44 In order to investigate further whether metabolism in Eliza¬
beth's case had any close dependence on her mental impressions, I
conveyed to her W'aking state the suggestion tliat in the next week
she would put on seven pounds. This suggestion was repeated
several times each day. By the end of the werk there was in fact
a gain of seven pounds, tltongh there was no increase in the amount
of nutrition, and though Elizabeth while the experiment lasted,
went on will* her hard work the whole day long. On the other
hand, on three different occasions I failed in an attempt to suggest
that in spite of her refraining from food for several days together

ao8 THE PHY9CAJ. PHENOMENA OF MYSTICISM

the should not lose weight. The decrease occurred, as it usually
would do, in spite of the suggestion.”

Dr. Lcchler, in this case, inferred that die suggestion failed
because it was not strong enough. He noticed that though the
same amount of nourishment was given, his subject was liable to
surprising and rapid fluctuations in her bodily condition. When
she was mentally well-balanced, she at once began to put on flesh,
but when an inferiority complex or a feeling of inadequacy took
possession uf her, a loss of weight immediately became perceptible.

Another surprising feature in the case was the fact that Elizabeth,
like Theresa Neumann, and, 1 may mid, like Teresa Higginson]
seemed to have little need of sleep. On the average she slept only
from two to three hours each night, but she got through a heav y
task of work in the daytime (she acted as his domestic servant and
also worked in tlic garden) without any notable exhaustion.

CHAPTER VIII

INCENDIUM AMORIS

T HAT emotional ardour* of a more intense type are often
attended by an actual rise of bodily temperature may be
regarded as a fact of everyday experience. There is
nothing therefore particularly astonishing in the statements which
we so often encounter in the lives of the great mystics, to the effect
that when some transport of love took possession of their souls their
countenances became inflamed, that they could hardly endure the
clothing which seemed to stifle them, and that in the coldest of
winter weather they threw open doors and windows, panting for
air and half unconsciously seeking the same kind of relief as our
Lc»rd has indicated in His parable of Dives and Lazarus. Let us
begin by taking a few well-known examples. In Father Goldie’s
Story of St. Stanislaus A ostia we read:

(| St « Francis dc Sales in his book on the Love of God, sap,
*' Stanislaus was so violently assailed by the love of Out Saviour
as often to hunt and to suffer spasms in consequence, and he was
obliged to apply cloths dipped in cold water to his breast in order
to temper the violence of the love he felt.” One day he was found
by his Superior walking alone at night time in the little garden*
which the Novitiate then possessed, when a very bitter cold wind
was blowing, and on being asked by the Father Rector what he
was doing there, he replied with all simplicity and straightforward¬
ness, ” I am burning, I am burning,” as lie felt his heart still on
fire with the love of God, although his prayer was over. Stephen
Augmti bore witness to the fact that the Socius to the Master of
Novices, Father Lelius Sanguigni, had often to bathe hb chest to
temper the scorching heat.*

rcad*^ VCr * C XiiC fcnmuin m *** * anirn where Stanislaus cooled hit ardours

Olim KtMtka mrii ignem Imibat in nndu
Ilium divtnut quo peredehat amor.

Itr alio, iuvmr*. alius qum ignis adurit.

Accede hue limili qutsquis ab sgnr calcs.

210 THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF UY5TICUM

Similarly in the case of St, Mary Magdalen dc’ Pazxt, who was
horn in 1566, two years before St. Stanislaus died, we are told how
her transport* of love transformed her outward appearance, " for
her face,” say* her biographer and confessor, Father Cepari,
" h»ing in a moment the paleness which had been produced by
her penances and austere religious life, became glowing, beaming
and full; her eyes shone and sparkled like stars, and site cried out,
saying, * O Love ! O God of Love 1 * etc,” But, more in parti-
cular, the same biographer, whose statements are in every way
confirmed by the depositions of the witnesses who gave evidence
in the process of beatification, declares that:

Sometimes, overpowered by the excess and abundance of this
love, she said, “ I can no longer bear so much love, retain it in
Thyself ; and through the great and consuming flame of this
Divine Love which she fell, she could find no rest, but tore her
clothes, went into the garden and tore up the plants, or W’hatever
came to hand. In the midst of winter the could not bear woollen
garments, through that fire of love which burned in her breast, but
cut and loosened her habit.

Ot again:

Feeling so great a flame in her lace, site fanned herself with her
veil, then ran to the well and drank a quantity of fresh water
bathed her fare and arms, poured it into her bosom, and so great
was the flame which burned in her breast that even externally she
seemed to consume. 1

Not less remarkable was the devotional ardour of Sl Philip Neri,
the contemporary of both the saints last named.

Philip 'says Father Baccij felt such a heat in the region of the
heart, that it sometimes extended over his whole body, and for all
liis age, thinness and spare diet, in the coldest days of winter it was
necessary, even in the midst of the night, to open the windows, to
cool die bed, to fan him whilr in bed, and in various ways to
moderate the great heat. Sometimes it quite burned hi* throat,
and in all his medicines something cooling \va* generally mixed to
relieve him. Cardinal Cresccnxi, one of his spiritual children, said
that sometimes w hen lie touched his hand, it burned as if the saint

was suffering from a raging fcsrr- Even in winter he almost

* Onuwun TramUtui, pp. *35-7.

mCEMtHUlf AMORU

211

always had his clothes open from the girdle upwards, anti some¬
times when they told him to fasten them lest lie should do himself
some injury, he used to say he really could not because of the
excessive heat he felt. One day, at Rome, when a great quantity
of snow had fallen, he was walking in the streets with his cassock
unbuttoned; and when some of his penitents who were with him
were hardly alile to endure the cold, he laughed at them and said
it was a shame for young men to feel cold when old men did not.

Elsewhere the biographer records how—

Sometimes in saying office, or after Mass, or in any other spiritual
action, sparks, as it were of fire, were seen to dart from his eyes
aud from las face. This inward fire was such that it sometimes
made him swoon, forcing him to throw himself on his lied, where
he is said to have lain occasionally a whole day without any other
sickness than liiat of divine love. On one occasion it so burned
Ids throat that he was ill for several days. 1

1 hrre can be little doubt that the discovery which was made in
the autopsy performed after St. Philip's death must be closely
connected with the tame intense fervour of divine love. During
more than fifty year's of his long life he had suffered from a strange
and inexplicable palpitation of the heart, which was noticed, not
only by himself, but by many of his companions and friends whom
in the tenderness of his affection for their souls hr often pressed to
his bosom. The surgeons, when they opened Ids body, found a
swelling under Ids left breast, which proved to be due to the fact
that two of Ids ribs were broken and thrust outwards. In view of
the positive testimony of die surgeons, there can be no dispute that
the injury was there and had been dicre for many years. His
biographers seem therefore fully justified in tracing it to that strange
incident ot the coming to 1 dm of the lioly Ghost in 1544 under the
guiic of a globe of fire. “ Thereupon,” we arc told, *' he was
suddenly surprised by such an ardour of love that, unable to bear
it, he threw himself down upon the ground, and, like one trying
to cool himself, bared his breast, to temper in some measure the
flame which he felt." Certain it is in any case that from that
time forth his body was liable in moments of tleep emotional feeling
to tremble convulsively w-idi intense |>al pita lions, while he became
conscious of the presence of a swelling on tlur left breast, the size

ati* fp 0 ' k/' if * PMip Am, edited by Father Antrubui (190a), VoL I. pp.

212

Tltr. PHYSICAL PHENOMENA 01 MYSTICISM

of a man s hst. Thii he retained for all the rat of lm life. 1 It is
curious that a displacement of the ribs, similar in cause and
character, hut apparently less in degree, is recorded in the case of
Sl Paul of the Cross, the founder of the Passionbis, who lived two
centimes later. An even more striking modern example is that of
Gemma Galgani*, who died at Lucca in 1903.

Nevertheless, such physical manifestations as these, however
wonderful in themselves, can hardly be regarded as witnessing to
any abnormal increase of the temperature of the body. So long
as we have no evidence of a more objective kind than the mystic’s
longing for frmh air or cool water, or his statement that he is
suffering from a sensation of suffocation and burning heat, there
obviously b nothing which takes us beyond the range of the symp¬
toms which may be observed in any hospital fever-ward. None
the less, the claim is made in many hagicigraphical writings that
phenomena do occasionally occur for which no parallel can be
found in the pathological records known to medical science. I
have heard it stated, for example, that in the case ofPadrr Pio da
Pietrclcina, the young Capuchin priest of Foggia, who is marked
with the stigmata, the clinical thermometer used by his doctor in
visiting liim professionally lias on more than one occasion been
unable to register the high temperature of the patient, and has
consequently been broken by the unprecedented expansion of the
mercury within. The same allegation has also been made to me.
b\ persons who seemed to be well informed, in connection with
another modern mystic. But In neither case have I authority
which 1 could quote in print. In earlier ages, of course, there
were no clinical thermometers, and the only proofs which can lie
offered in evidence are of a much ruder description. Still, some
such tots are recorded in hngiographical literature, and tlic
authenticity of these alleged examples affords interesting matter for
discussion.

Probably the l>est-known case b that of St. Catherine of Genoa,
which, thanks In large measure to the very learned and painstaking

•The fullat account of the autopsy will be found in the Life by Father
Gdloaio, St. Philip » intimate friend and disciple. See AA.SS. Max V.J
p 510 Capecrlatro (Eng. tram. II, p. 4G3) and the BoUandisti do not ouilc
agree a* to the umn of the tunpxuo. But the medical testimony given onwih
•erm* to hove been submitted ut the proem of beatification- Several of the
Orstonni Fathers were also present at the autopay.

_ The medical account will hr found in a Latin tract of Angtliu Victorina

•Li/r,pp.339,55a. 433 .

INOSNZMVM AUOKJS

JI 3

study of Baron Friedrich von Hag*!, has been brought to the notice
of many English readers for whom the ordinary Saint's Life offers
little attraction. St. Catherine was a mystic of the seraphic type,
and perhaps nothing more beautiful has ever been primed about
the love of God than is to be found in the utterances and writings
attributed to this noble Genoese matron. Assuming for the
moment the authenticity of the whole content of the Vita t Dottrina
rfi Santa Catnina da Genova, which was first published in 1551, we
find that the book abounds in references to the extraordinary physi¬
cal state into which Catherine was frequently thrown by the
intensity of her consuming low. Quite at the beginning, and in
reference to her “great Cuts," which lasted from 1476 to it

is stated that, for twenty-threr lents, and as many advents, the
Saint took no solid food at all, but occasionally drank a glassful of
a beverage compounded of water, vinegar and pounded salt.

When she drank tins mixture it seemed as if it were thrown
upon a red-hot fiag-stone and tliat it was at once dried up in the
great fire which was burning within her. An astounding and
unheard of tiling ! For no digestion, however healthy, could bear
a drink of this kind iaitiug, but she declared that the interior
sweetness she experienced was so great that even this unpalatable
beverage gave refreshment to her body. 1

I omit chance references which seem to point to some similar
state of suffering which recurred at intervals during the inter¬
vening years. What b certain b that in her last sickness, which
continued from January to September 1510, she was over and over
again the victim of sensations of intense burning. For example:

On one day she was stabbed with a still sharper arrow of the
vine love. ... 1 hr wound 1 frrita) was so poignant that she lost
speech and sight, and abode in thb maimer some three hours.

She made signs with her hands of feeling as if it were red-hot pincers
attacking her heart and other interior parts.

Later on there was a day when she suffered such an intensity of
burning that it was impossible to keep her in bed. She seemed

like a creature placed in a great flame offirr, so much so that human

eyes could not endure the spectacle of such a martyrdom. Thb
angubh hsted a whole day and night and it was impossible to touch
1 Uta t DtUruu, Genova, 18*7, pp. to-11.

21-} THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OP MYSTICISM

her skin because of the acute pain which she fell from any such touch. 1

But this was by no means all. We arc told a little later of
another attack (asfdlto ) —

This was so violent dun her whole frame seemed to tie in a
tremble, especially her right shoulder (which appeared as though
severed from her Ixidy, and dmilatly one rib seemed to be forced
out of its place with so much pain, anguish and racking of muscles
and bones, that it was a terrible thing to look upon, and it seemed
impossible that a human body could endure it).*

The words which I have enclosed in brackets are regarded by
Ilnrim von IlUgel as not forming part of the primitive text of the
Vita, in spite of the fact — so at least 1 infer from him—that they are
found in the manuscripts as well as in the first printed edition of
1551. He asserts, in regard both of the alleged injury to die
shoulder and the displaced rib, that these details “ have precisely
the same' colour,’ and no doubt proceed from the same contributor,
as the longer passage relative to her supposed stigmatization, absent
from all the MSS., but given in the printed Fita on the authority
of Argentina."* It requires, I think, a very robust sceptic to reject
nowadays the pMiihility of the phenomena of itigmatization, and
some injury to the shoulder b of frequent occurrence in the case
of stigmatized persons. To take but a single example, the post
morUm examination of die body of St. Veronica Giuliani attested
die existence of " a very considerable curvature of tlte right shoulder,
which bent the very bone just as the weight of a heavy cross might
have done.” The surgeon, Genxili, who performed the autopsy,
stated in his sworn deposition that “ if this curvature had occurred
by natural means it would have prevented her moving her arm, but
I have myself frequently seen Sister Veronica during her last illness
move her right arm without the least difficulty." 4 But whatever
we may think of the inference thus drawn, there can be no reason¬
able doubt of the fact that some extraordinary deflection of St.

1 [bid., p. 15s. No oor who refer* to tbr druOt given in my chapter on
Stignuiiutinn regarding Doairnia Luurl can tail in note Utc many points of
resemblance txtwrrn hrr case and that of St Catbmne.

' t Datinag, p. 134. " (Jna coalm Irvata dull' altre “ are the words if the

original.

* Tim Myituml FJtmtni t/ HtUgmt, I., p. 1117 r nntc,

* Salvatori, Ufr tj Si. I 'ttmuc GVu/iam (Eng. Tram.), p. 1&3. This biography
» based upon the evidmnr given in Use p rocam or bratification, and lU natrmenti
of fact may be regarded ai mntworthy

rSCE_VDR'W aUDM:I3

Veronica^ right dkmlder w.si rjJ^ervablr, together with the irnirkt
t>r the five wounds, whet! her body wfe rxjjjuined on July to, j 7-7,
thirty-four hour* after her death, \ T on the 17 ^ r i?o/frin ff , U vc
have it, was actually printed in *551, ms dal such precedents as
Si + Philip Even's displaced ribs, and St. Veronica GiuKam T s ffesed
clavicle could not possibly have been known to the compilers..
CWquently it seems, in ray judgment, much saner to stippos^
th:it these additional derails, if additions they were, are derived
fn>tu Argentina's faithful memory of what her eyes actually saw in
• Catherine s East illness, than to attribute them to the. fervid
imaginatinos of irresponrihJe panegyrists

But the most cilriom and interesting record of the internal
coaflagratimi by which the lm mnnairt$ of Catherine's vitality
we re consumed hits till to be noticed. On August st8fe ( when ihe
tiagKly or suffering began to nt,tr its .-ml, she was again all on
tire. Site cried aloud that 1 all die water which the world rnntaint
con id not give me Hie least refreshment/' Later her tongue and
hi* became so parched with fee burning heat within flint she could
not move them or speak At sack times, if anyone touched a hail
of her bead, ot even the edge of the bed, tu- diL- btddothea. site
would scyeam as if she had been stabbed. Her confess./ some-
limes hesitated to bring her Communion in this state, for she could
swallow no thing, neither food or drink, 11 but, with a joyous face,
dn’ would mak- him t% sign that she was 001 afraid, anti then, when
1 hr had received, die remained vrith her countenance glowing and
rosy, kite that of a Seraph.”*

An explanation ot ,dJ ihLv suffering was afterwards given by licr
devoted handmaid, Argentina, who 'kclnrad that Catherine had
predicted ir, before it can* about, and had confided to her that
befqFr her death fee wo* destined to endure fee sufferings of our
Lord’s Passion, together wife fee anguish of fee five wound* (fee
Stigmatah at least interiorly, on account of die great ttaw fee bote
to her Saviour and her desire to resnufelr Him in all things.*

None tht less, it is added that Catherine never allowed a word
tu escape her in public which could throw light upon fee cause of
tJit-rf* torments and betray thrir entirely Supernatural diameter, 1
\S 7 ien Argentina also bears witness lhat her mistress, throwing uut
ho .utiia m I he form of a crojs, piracn'cd the counterpart of her

1 11*1 r DaitfVt^ J>, 166.

1 fW., pyu 167-fl,

1 Ih*4.+ &, 1 tifl, “ Gliiiiiniiii -li

fMJr,"

■ ife unn fwuli dumlc ii [rtulfccwn ante

3l6 TICE I'llYSfCAL. PIIE.NOME.NA Of MVSTIClSU

crucified Saviour, one of her arms being stretched more than five
inches beyond in natural length, 1 I must confess that this detail,
instead of discrediting her statement, as Baron von HUgcl declares
it to do, seems to me to supply a notable confirmation of the
general trustworthiness of our witness. Certain it is, in any case,
that when the Blessed Stcfana Quinxani in 1497 represented in
ecstasy the incidents of the Passion of our Lord, her left arm in
the crucifixion scene was " stretched considerably beyond its
natural length "(assat sops a la lungagin* sua natural**). If Argentina
was romancing, it U extraordinary that she should have embellished
her story with ju»t those striking features for which parallels,
attested by the beat of evidence, can be found in the case of other
mystics. No doubt it may be said that Argentina might easily
have read or heard an account of Blessed Stcfana Quinzani's
ecstasies which took place in 1497 * Phis is true, but it is much
more likely that the story would have l*rn known to an educated
lady like her mistress. St. Catherine, and in that case it is quite
conceivable tliat the impression made upon Catherine's mind may
have contributed to produce the s ame physical phenomenon in her
own mystical transports.

During the whole of the Saint's last illness, and especially in its
closing phases, these long-protracted seizures, characterized by a
sensation of intense burning ( Jxtoco ), are a constantly recurring
feature, In particular, the printed 17 la records two special occa¬
sions when material proof was given of the intensity of the fieat
developed. Let me copy the first in Baron von HOgel's translation:

In proof that this holy woman bore the stigmata interiorly, a
large silver cup was ordered to be brought in, which had a very
high standing saucer; the cup was full of cold water for refreshing
her hand*, in the palms of which, because of the great fire that
burned within her, she felt intolerable pain. And on putting her
hands into it, the wnter became so boiling that the cup and the
very saucer were greatly heated.*

* ^ f? - * (Caurm*. grandiuiraa pen* ad tin brmcoo, <tf tal »rte che ti

*Uung6 ptb cii rnrzxo palms del •oJito.”

■fee » paper of mine m the Prtntiingx of It* S.PJt., Vot XXXII.. p. 106*
*nd cf. the account I have given of the elongation* of the Vm
£***- Vol. XIX. The tSoo'SS^

Bk * od Stdanai caje were attested by the Ji*ned and *ealed decUrai^n of
twenty-one cyr-witnetteL ^

. * JJ* ***?'}'' P The original Italian acorn in

the liia • D.\tir tnj («L Genova, 1847), p. 167. m

INCEXDIL'M AMOR15

217

One u conscious of a certain temerity in differing from an
authority who has devoted so much time and so much learning to
die elucidation of his subject; moreover, I can make no claim to
any expert knowledge of Italian. Nevertheless, I find it liard to
accept the Baron's rendering of this passage, and still more liis
rejection of the whole incident as unliistorical. To begin with, the
arge stiver cup (gran Lizza J'argento) was surely a standing cup
witli a stem and a sliallow bowl, more or less like an exaggerated
champagne glass in furm, though probably the stem was shorter in
proportion. Cups and saucers were not known in Europe until
long afterwards, and, in any ease, there is no mention of a " saucer "
but simply of the piede della ta^ die stem or pedestal of the cup.
Anyone who leaves a silver spoon in a cup of hot tea u apt To
discover with a start that silver is un excellent conductor of heat.
It seems to roe natural to suppose that Argentina made a similar
discovery. She had carried the cup in by its pedestal full of the
coolest water she could procure. After St. Catherine had bathed
her hands Argentina came to remove it and the stem burned her
whai die touched it. Such an incident is likely to have impressed
itself upon her memory, and the use of the word bollenu (boiling!
is only a very natural exaggeration. She was surprised to find that
the stem had become unpleasautly hot.

Between the 13th of September and the 15th, on which last dav
*hc died, Catherine lost immense quantities of blood. The tem-
pCTumre of this discharge, we are told in the Vila, was such that
(i, it heated the vessels in which it was caught; (3) it sodded her
wherever it touched it, to that die places had to be cooled
with rose-water; (3) being on one occasion received in a silver cup,
it heated the base of the cup and left a mark which could never
be washrd out. 1 Baron von Htlgcl comments diat only dur first
of diesc olaervatiom is to lie found in the manuscripts, and that
P *1 r • s 1 cconc *f r >\ physical matters are thus, with a short-sighted
good faith and admiration, eagerly utilized to naturalize and
obscure a soaringly spiritual personality."* No doubt it is true
dmt these physical matters are 44 purely secondary but after all
for our present inquiry, the question is, I, die statement accurate ?

II dievc things did happen they were word* recording, and while

1 Vila t DiUtfiaa, p. 17a.

*. K P 314- Without diipurinir the pouit»iluv

rvm thr lihrlihoci of Jutaequcnt interpobtioo. iiTwch a work!

rVxlaal critkkS 11 "^^ ** * U tv ro-umtroct the pnmiiive text.

Ukra 5?3VSJ!? y •oracr, twi U offcn m*m publU 10 iLc

• ^ ea4, '> »How» conjecture to ctyitAllixe iuui aaunutcc.

2t8 THE PHYSICAL PtlEXOUEHA OF UYSTlClSSt

I agree that die evidence taken by itself is not conclusive, we cannot
ignore the precisely si mi l ar declarations which liave been made by
eye-witnesses in the case of other mystics.

Let us take, for example, the instance of Use Venerable Serafims
di Dio, a Carmelite nun of Capri, who died in iCgg. Her Life,
which was written by the two Oratorian Fathers, Sguillante and
Pagani, was published at Rome in 1748. They seem to have
it almost entirely upon the evidence furnished in the process of
beatification. In this biography we read;

Her nuns say that they have often seen her—for example, when
she was in prayer, or after Communion—with her face glowing
like a flame and her eyes sparkling. It scorched them if they
touched her, even in winter time and even when she was quite old,
and they declared that they had repeatedly heard her say that she
was consumed wid» a living fire and tliat her blood was boiling.
Her throat, palate and Ups became so parched that it was necessary
to cool them wiUi frah water; but this expedient by no means
sufficed to allay the burning she felt. . . .

The doctors, who did not understand Uic cause of her sufferings,
applied many kinds of cooling remedies and frequently bird her;
while our Saviour Himself, in order to give her some relief. espcciaUy
when these blood-boilings (U ballori dei sangut) lasted for two or
three days, as was often the case at rimes when she entertained an
intense desire to die a martyr, so disposed matters that she lost
great quantities of blood through the nostrils or by the mouth. It
was a matter of intense astonishment to all observers to sec a body
so emaciated as hrrs lc*e such a vast quantity of blood without
being incapacitated for everyday duties. 1

Those who are familiar wiUi the story of St Catherine of Genoa
will remember that, in her case too, her recoveries were as marvel¬
lous as the mysterious indispositions which repeatedly brought her
to death’s door. But die most striking phenomenon recorded in
the Life of the Venerable Serafma is the statement made regarding
her holy remains after she breathed her last:

For the space of twenty houn the body retained so great a heat,
particularly in die region of the heart, that 011c could comfortably
warm one’s hand by holding it there, as many of the nuni dis¬
covered on making the experiment. Indeed.’ die warmth was
perceptible for thirty-three hours after death, though somewhat

• SguilUnie anil Pa«ani. ViU MU I'm. S^ma 6 DU (Rome, . 74 0), p .

I.VOLVDIUM AMORB

219

Ici5 in degree, in jpitc of the fact that the month was March and
the weather chilly. The corpse did not completely lose its heat
until it had been opened and the heart extracted.*

One’s first instinct is to conclude that the nuns and their doctor
must have been mistaken in supposing that life was extinct, hut
there are a good many similar cases* and it is difficult to believe
that mystics, after long and exhausting illnesses, were peculiarly
exposed to the danger of being buried alive.

Take, for example, the case of the Dominican nun, Suor Maria
Yillani, at Naples. She died on March 26, 1670, at the age of
eighty-six, and her Life was published four years afterwards, in a
volume of more than 600 pages, by Father Francis Marchesc, O.P.
In his very first sentence the biographer informs us that his heroine
was a furnace of love, and litis is the note upon which he harps
throughout the whole book. It is plain, also, from die letters and
other writings of die Sister herself, dial the idea that she was
continually consumed by an almost insupportable flame of love
dominated all her thoughts, lire Life states that the physical
effects of this interior conflagration were such as to compel her
to drink as much as thirty-six, and sometimes even forty-five, litre
of water in a day. 1 do not exactly know the English equivalent
of the Neapolitan measure of a libra, but thirty-six libre probably
falls not much short of twenty-eight pints or three gallons and a
half. Moreover, we are told that the drinking of this was attended
by a hissing sound like that of water falling on a sheet of red-hot
iron.* It is impossible not to suspect a certain amount of exaggera¬
tion in all this, but on the other hand, diere arc definite physical
facts connected with the case which cannot readily be explained
away. Suor Maria believed that she had been wounded in the
ndc and heart by a fiery ipear of love, and there U good evidence
that the wound was really there. At any rate, her biographer
prints three formal depositions signet! by three of her confessors,
who had been permitted, at different times, to see, touch and even
pm!>e the external wound. These Fathers were well-known
Dorninif ant, and one, Leonardo di I^cttrre, had a great reputation

1 IhU, p. 46*.

* Marchcv, V llri d*Ui Stnm dt tho. S
An exactly urntlar •utrrrjrnt u mad'*

(be Venerable Ajjnn of Je»u», a Fret
himself hat! Iwm present v*hen want
her iram;Kvti of burning fervour, an.!
to irrf-Kt»t iron. Lant/tgr* n Luia.t, I

• r , Fdlawii Napoli, 1674). pp. *03-4.
hv t-unon Mart moil rc^ardm* hi* penitent
ich Dominican nun. fir declare* that be
was poured upon her breaU to cool her in
that the water tizxled like water poured 00
r'irdt la I'. Agnis it Jftut, II., p. 134.

1 %Q THE PJfV-UIAL FpttjtfQMENA OF vJYsmrUI*

for sanctity, it) that I he cause or hia licai ifk-aiiun was if^roduc^l
after Ms death. The life of Maria VUimu appeared wit?
fullest ecclesiastical sanction* and bo lb the General of the Domini¬
cans and the Gitdiiud Archbishop or Naples gave It their im-
primatar. But pOfbim the nimt remarkaljic statement which thr
briok contains is the account of the opening of the Ixxly nine limn*
after death. The corpse of this woman of eighty-iix, which, when
iht breathed her Lo^t, had been drierd up* tmaciiucd and dark in
hue, became fresh-coloured and j tipple Like that of ;t living person
When the surgeon opened the breast* a quantity of bright fluid
blood issued both from the incision made and from the heart.
Some of (hit blood, Lhe biographer assure* us, had !>een preserved
in two Utile flasks,, and at the time of writing {1673) still remained
liquid Sod incorrupt* But what most astonished the onlookers
present at the autopsy was 1J the smoke and heat which

exhaled from the heart, that veritable furnace of divine love.*'
The surgeon found the heat too trying to proceed. He was corn*
pdlel to draw back for it while, but afterwards re turning, ‘‘he
put in his hand to extract the heart, hut he found it to hot that,
bunting himself (teuttmdm} t be was compelled 10 lake his hand
out again several times before he succeeded in, dfecdug his pur¬
pose*" The biographer declares dint a formal affidavit regarding
these facts was mmlc by the surgeons Domenico Trjfboc and
Francesco Pinto. 1 With regard to the hc-art itself, an open v.vmnd
was found in it of die very same form and diape an die dead nun
had drawn with licr own hand on a page of Iter tractate, Dr trttrtu
dk'hisJlamtiyi. " I liis wound (in the heart}," the biographer goo
mi, "I have '-ecu mid luudied and ocomin«i The Bjm of the
wound are hard and seared, just as happens when the cautery is
used* to remind us* no doubt* that It was mode iritfr a spear of
fire." 1

There nr” other examples more or less similar to those of Serafims
di Dio imd Nf.-vrl.-i \ ill mi, but I have no room ro discuss them at
any length. It must fie sutEirient to note that in die case of the
Franciscan misnCnriary, the Ven. Antonio Margil, an apoisilc who
Wit often seen ntiffri in the air in liii ecstasies of love* it hi stated
that after death " hi# face nvhkh had been pale dining lifetime
became of a beautiful rosy b 1 - :, his eyoi remained bright and hi*

J (Tfd A Mari* Vlllaa, pp. ^09- to, Thu i&USRiakl tnwt firrv xnrqi; weight
when Wc rcmrmtm tbal tiie hotik Wa-i pu.blti|iEil foj Naples ttwrlC tu .
lhan fouf vran jia»l chjMcd liner Uif OUhSpaf piacr.

1 JtiL, p. 610 .

IHCENUnfM wv-ma

221

limbs flexible, while hi. flesh continued; warm 1 down to the moment
wbrn his Iwiy 'a.^ cdhrigiird to ibe tomb,"* So, again, we ait
told of Blessed Andrew I form on, another holy Frimciiean who was
entirely penetrated with the leeaphic spirit of die Poor Man of
Atihi, " il was observed when they bid Jib body in the coffin
{liute days after death) tliat the flesh \vai still warm a ltd soft, and
all iiir r-lnews .-tod muscles flexible, just as If be had only expired
tilt moment before.' 3 These two lives last mentioned were
written in each case by the Foatubitor of the C’ais^e, who bad all the
sworn deposition* before him.

Among other instances of phenomenal heat manifestations might
he cited the case dT the Venerable Rosa Maria Serin (t [7251,
I'rit.iT -.i of the tAirmrlite enliven! o! F.uaing who for seven sue-
'•ev.sive yrjn In.I an extraordinary experience on Whil-Snndav.
On Iae flmt occasion a bait nf fire descended upon her viiibly in
[he sight of all the nuns. When they undressed her they found
her underlined .ilx>ve the breast burned in the form nf a heart.
The ;ame bunting took place for six other yellii, but there was
mi vidble hall of hie 1 Again, m die Life of the Venerable Frnsv-
tcsca did Serranc ' ifiot), a FmiidLscan nimof San Seteimo who,
like Maria Vi] Liui, hail a wound in die side, wo read that the blood,
which on certain occasions rurnr from tier side or was vomited by
the mouth, was *> hot that it cracked an earthen ware vessel used
u> receive it, nod had to be caught in a metal tsowL* Similarly of
St. Ir-p-uVi companion, the C.nun lite Anne nf Jeans* as well as
of two or three other candidates Tor beatilicatinn, we are told that
in some of htT illaes;^ the nuns v,ho mused her con 111 hardly
tom h her flesh on lutecium of the burning h-nt. a The evidence
for these cases i inconclusive, hut it is certainly not contemptible.

‘Only im- w liter* iji the Ordinary tiroc-CM tun! (fiat not a doctor but I'r
J-licm> 11. Mike i *f tbr U*dy w ma.

' G. M Gun] urn, A fi.:V drib j 1 jiUi *U &! I'm. £>. -djifarun Home, tftjt*),

}' i OJ. ] dinJ. *t Mcxitn in at ibe a ire of itCtJvhicuT-

■V Mocditti, l‘si 3 die ttvjtd „!i u'rr- Jirrnm • Roror. t’lJJ'. p, lys. JHrmed
Andrew ItwfEXiii w;(: ,£*iy«*i§hl yon dM when lie died Al Gandia tn Spain id
i&Kr-

1 G. Cnuiii, 5 . J.„ Vila fritu I A. fetJ .\furiti Strtu [Vcnsn, 1^411.

Preface,. p. viL, and pp. 3 \ anti 7-t >

■ G, p. Cincii' itti, S.J.. h'/.i {/&a I'm. 1 j_* 1 did Smt/tu Ibumr. (r.jj'

PP 39-TA *?%

‘ Bcnhuld-IriLi r, l b rt, h Mir/ Ai&d It JJhw . Milidfa, , Vof ll. r

P 41 I 3 %

InJcttr II MJ(J tn have liH '3 her veil chaired dml bum! lw ifie f ^ her
iiitmuj cnitilrtii 1 imi, Sc; thf Ii'n J\ CoUlta by F. M, Annibois da L'.sa
rrflo 5 ),p. 5®

CHAPTER IX

THE ODOUR OF SANCTITY

I T would be a matter of some interest to investigate how and
when the phrase *' the odour of sanctity ** first took its rise, 1
St. Paul, of course, tells us in hi* second Epistle to the Corin¬
thians (U. 15): ’* we arc the good odour of Christ unto God/’ and
this perhaps might point more naturally to a metaphorical inter¬
pretation. But there is at the same time so much evidence of an
early date which suggests that certain (acts in the physical order
have played their part in the evolution of this idea that it would
certainly be rash to exclude the more literal explanation. Probably
the earliest testimony which can be produced is that contained in
the famous letter of the Christians of Smyrna, describing the
martyrdom of their holy Bishop, St. Polycarp, in a.d. 155. They
*ay:

When he had offered up the Amen and finished his prayer, the
firemen lighted the fire. And a mighty flame flashing fortli, we
to whom it wa» given to see, saw a marvel, yea and we were pre¬
served that we might relate to the rest wliat happened. 'Hie fire,
making the appearance of a vault, like the sail of a vessel filled by
die wind, made a wall rouuri about the body of the martyr ; and
it was there in the midst, not like flesh burning but like gold and
silver refined its a furnace. For we perceived such a fragrant
smell, os if it were the wafted odour of frankincense or some other
precious spice.

So at length the lawless men. seeing that Isis body could not be
consumed by fire, ordered an executioner to go up to lriin and
stab him with a dagger. And when he had done this there came
forth a quantity of blood so that it extinguished the fire, and all
the multitude marvelled that their should l>c so great a difference
between the unbeliever* and the elect

1 There are innumerable owe* of fragrance comm* from a saint's tomb, but
as the BntLxndus Victor tic Buck, remarked, thia odour may base come &,>m
incense and odoriferous liert** enclosed in the coffin. See AtSLS., Oct, Vol »
p. 704. For the antiquity of the practice of placing such herbs in the tomb he
quote* Sicanl of Crnrmna, P.L atj, 408.

THF- ODOUR OF SANCTITY

223

No critic nowadays contests the authenticity of this letter. It
was undoubtedly written by those who were eye-witnesses of what
happened. The same is also true of the letter which was des¬
patched some twenty yeats later (/>., about A.n. 177) by die
Christians of Vienne and Lyons to their brethren in Asia Minor.
Here the survivors, speaking of the more heroic among their
number who boldly defied the persecutors, say:

They went out rejoicing, glory and grace being blended in their
faces, so that even their bonds seemed like beautiful ornaments,
as those of a bride adorned with variegated golden fringes; and
they were fragrant with the sweet odour of Christ, so that some
even supposed that they had l>een anointed with earthly ointment. 1

It appears, then, that already in the second century the idea was
fa m iliar throughout the Christian world tliat high virtue was in
some cases miraculously associated with fragrance of body. An¬
other example, equally attested by historical evidence of the
highest class, may be cited from the accounts preserved to us of
the death of St. Simeon Stylites in 459. From more than one
source we Irani that his privileged' disciple Anthony, unable to
obtain any response from his master, climbed to the platform of the
column and found the Saint's body " exhaling the perfume as it were
of many spices." 1 So again St. Gregory the Great in his Dialogue
tells us of tlie poor afflicted Scrvulus, whom he personally knew:

While he lay giving car within himself to that divine harmony,
his holy soul departed this mortal life: at which time all that
were there present felt a most pleasant and fragrant smelt, wlirreby
they perceived how true it was that Scrvulus said. A monk of
mine, who yet liveth, was then present, and with many tears useth
to tell us that the sweetness of that smell never went away, but
that they felt ir continually until the time of his burial.*

Or to take an example from our own country in the early

' Euiehim, Hitt. EctUi., V. I. 5 35. In a note which Hamack tuu published
in the %rituhrifi Jw Kinchtn^ttMcklt, If, pp. 991-6 (l8?8), be refer* u> the Ait 4
S. Thttloe, rh»{> 35, and smn* to tuggat that it wai a common thing for Christiana
to throw *wret perfume* and (pica to the irnutyn u a symbol of immortality,
but this rati on alo tie explanation could meet my frw of the na alleged.

* The I»ody of St. Gregory Naxianim h said to have been identified «iy|
distinguished from those of <»tn~r member* of hi* family hurirtj in the came vault
by it* fragrance: AASM., May, Vot 113, p. 449.

* Dido&u 1 n fSl. Grrgnr> (hr. 14), A seventernth-emtury translation edited by
Dr. E. Gardner (London. 1911), p tgv Similar example* of fragrance ifltt
death are remounted by St Gregory, Hid. iv. *7, and tv. 47; the evidence in the
former ca*e 1 icing |>articul»rly good

234 m* I'jivmcAi. 4 'iJEiroufcjfA nr ttYuncirit

ccniLirif?, wc cue mid of Si. Guthbii, ihc hermit, in hih Last hours
on earth, that " when lie turned himself again mid recovered lift
breath, there tame fhigtaocc from his Diuulii like the ixIqllt of the
sweetest flowers," Further, after the Saint had expired, Em
disciple " be.tr'i angelic »rittg5 thro’ the regies** of the Air, and all
the island (of Crow land 1 was profusely filled will) the exceeding
sweetness of a wondrous odour. “ Also we I ram that when hus
sister St. Petsja " came on the next day, according to the command!
H the blessed man, they' found all ihe place and the buildings
filled with the stveeinew of the hrrb ambrosia.'' 1 These statements
are derived from tin* Life of the Saint by his c«n temporary Felix,
and the general iniMWorthmess of the hiugraphy ill question is
disputed by nrs one. 3

Now while, of course, we ore bound lo rcgujpibw that cme or
■other of these descriptions may owe something to llir fervent
imagination or a single reporter, writing possibly undei deep
emotional stimulus, still the accord among these witnesses, so
widely separated in place and time, is not a little remarkable,
mid, what is perhaps more striking, there is a consensus or testi¬
mony as to the or runnier of similar manifestations in irccnt
ecnmrint which cannot lie ignored. In a short account like The
present it is Impossible to give an adequate idea of the number * f
example* which have been recorded. Tile vast majority of cases
have to do with the fragrance proceeding after death firm the
mortal remains of ju>me of (id’s specially devoted servan's rmd
ihfi dors not immrdftifch concern m here, but riirne arc also
En.mv instances of Saints whose person, ikr „ and e*l| have diffused
sweet odours during life in such a way as fo attract die general
aitontUD of their intimates and visi tors,

VVhat lends a certain confirmation if. ihr accounts referred to is
the occurrence of facts of a rimilar nature among spiritualistic
phenomena, notably in the case of the medium, Mr, Siainnjn
Mosrt. This gcnileman, who, it inuit be remembered, was not a
professional medium* and who h spoken of with the sinceren
respect by all who knew him intimately** gives the fallowing

‘Goodwill. Lift tf J£f. Gb-I-Wof, pjr. Che rcwJsTing of (hr Ajiido-Snoc*

is convenioii to quote. Die wig-Jial Latin oi i dU h iuI t.tec), m die drtt &,*:i,-^

1 A iftnw TiHNipm sT^mtile r/ p-rikrtnr m Airline jraittpcrcrpiibb ju ihr luomirnl
<)T i lea 111. 11 Lti y be qid 11 rd fl ■ ■ tt> I IJfc of Cnttrinn S*vr i]J ‘ ^ ’ e Ikj i i *' p* ima , t L<
eIU ipirctuc (U da 1 ha imsTk i uni vuivbitmi ^ q ^

Mummi, Fir.!, jr i};.

r Mr Suealnii M tj.-? svfii w^itulli < cirrgy i.no nT thr Church nf Englnd,
tin jpurTl Rurj.tr, Kent w h*Vc ow i (brown hit faith in (to erred r sin) he irrtirrd

tbe GDOiift of SA.Ncnmr

account of bis own personal expppBsnct, It a contained in ti letter
to Tkt Spiritualist newspaper for January 1 1 1875;

In every circle with which I am lic<ju,iimcd, so:nr means is used
Tor inducing harmonious conditions. Tliis is usually done by
means of music or singing* hi our circle it has always been done
by means of perfumes. From the very first we have been enjoined
to stillness, arid attempts at conversation have been repressed* We
do not use a musical box., nor has music been asked for* But no
stance passe* without periling being ihnwrrcd upon ui or per-
fumed waves of air being wafted round the circle* These waves
of air usually blow over my head* so that by putting up my hand
I can feel the cold air blowing over m\ head twelve or eighteen
inches above it. It is nut until the waves of scented air come
round to tne that 1 detect Lite presence of perfume, except on rare
oecasiuns-

"fhese perfumes are of various kiticb. rose, sandatwood, and
verbena. being favourites. Any sweet-scented flowers in the room
arc utilized and theii perfume extract od. TEib is notably the case
in the country. Wo have noticed in such rases dm! the presence
of a particular flower in the roam would del ermine the prominent
spirit odour ; and that partii nlar blossoms would have all the
[jerTnmc extracted from them fir the time, tlmtjgji the "dour would
return on the following day. Sometimes, however, a jperfectly
distinct odour would be extracted from—or t more precisely, be put
upon—a particular flower. In this case the fWmtr invariably
withered and died in .1 short time.

Jt b now irjmc months mice 1 fust noticed the presence of a
perfumed atmusphere round tnvscJl', especially during rimes when
I was suffering pnm* T have been liable to neuralgia, and at
such times those around me iiavc noticed the p Essence of perfume
of various kinds* such as those we observe during onr seances.
One evening 1 was standing ai an open window through which
the air was blowing, and she perfume r>l rose wai so marked that
friends who were proem endeavoured so trace it t«? some tb unite
jource. It was found to be localised in a spot no bigger tlian a
shilling at the top of rrsy head* Tile spot was perceptibly wet with

into lay communion, acting for mciny yean u a Kboolnuuiter at Umventty
l^Jiut'vn may lie barnctl [rutu tilt Arlitln tEevOiod li> liiiti Hr

the Vftcttitiagt nftSf &xitt?fcf Ppeii'co/ AwrafcA, Wit IX and XI, he was highly
by jdL

2?f> THE PUY5WJAL PHENOMENA OF MYSTICISM

the perfume, which oozed run more freely on pressure. Since
that time we have become familiar with the fact, and have ceased
to wonder when the perfume shows itself, if ! am suffering pain.
The process is, I am informed, remedial, and I have knowledge
of at least one medium now living who has frequently observed a
similar phenomenon, though not referable to perfume localised in
one spot.

But, indeed, the fact is both new and old. We ltave not observed
it of late years, perhaps because wc have not searched for it. but in
mediseval days the fact was perfectly familiar. It is only now that
wc are beginning to understand the phenomena of mediumship,
which showtxl themselves among the monks, nuns and recluses of
the middle ages. They were in many cases powerful mediums,
they gave themselves the best conditions — seclusion, prayer, fast¬
ing—and the odour of sanctity became a well-known occurrence
among them. Only they named it badly. There was no parti¬
cular sanctity about them or about us now—frequently the reverse.
The perfume had nothing to do with sanctity. It was a pheno¬
menon of mcdium&hip which was rife then, and which exists now,
perhaps more frequently than we know.

Of course, wc have more evidence for all this titan Mr. Stainton
Moses’ unsupported statement. His friends, and especially Dr.
and Mr*. Charlton Speer, confirm his statements in all material
points. Neither is there any reason for suspecting these perfectly
respectable people of conspiring to deceive the public. At the
same time it should be noted that the fragraitce which perfumed
the air at the stances referred to was in many respects different
from the phenomena 1 have found recorded in the Lives of the
Saints. In tile former case we seem to have the presence of certain
material scents, definitely recognized as the perfume of particular
Rowers, which were, so to speak, sprayed upon the persons present,
and which smarted, a* we learn from othrr witnesses, when a few
drops accidentally got Into their eyes. Sometimes, again, the
scent would be poured upon the heads or the handkerchiefs of the
sitters. 1 But the most striking difference between these pheno¬
mena or the stance-room and the " odour of sanctity ” with which
Mr. Stainton Moses compares them is the fact that the ascetics so

• But d. hvcttAiati if STM. IX. p. ja8. the Cut that on more than one
ocsaiinn something went wrong and the conrequrnces were unplrmant On
9th July, 1875, Stainton More* made a grievance of the daewrf produced bv the
disgusting tcrnl. J.H.C 1

THE ODOUR OF SANCTITY

227

honoured, instead of making a display of their mysterious gifts, did
their utmost to hide them from the knowledge of men. The exact
opposite seems always to have been the case even with unpaid
mediums like Stainton Moses and D. D. Home. They exploited
their powers for their own credit, if not for their pecuniary emolu¬
ment, and there is little of modesty to be found in anything they
have written on the subject.

In selecting a few examples of more recent date to illustrate the
olfactory phenomena which meet us in liagiographicai literature,
we may begin with an instance recounted by St. Teresa. In her
Book of Foundation* site speaks at some length of a contemporary of
hers, the famous Spanish ascetic Catalina de Cardona, a lady of
very high family, who, to lire distress of her noble relations, em¬
braced a life of solitude and extraordinary austerity. Catalina
paid a short visit to the Carmelite convent of Toledo, and St.
Teresa reports of her:

All our nuns assured me that there was about hex a fragrance
as dial of relics, so strong that it moved them to give thanks to
our Lord; it clung even to her habit and her girdle which she
left behind, for they look her habit from her and gave her another;
and the nearer they came to her die more strongly did diey perceive
it, though her dress, owing to die heat which then prevailed, was
of a kind to be offensive rather than otherwise. I know they
would not sav anything which was not in every w’ay true. 1

It is plain that St. Teresa herself fully believed in the reality
of the phenomenon. Similar manifestations were afterwards to lie
recorded of many members of her own Order, and so far as regards
the fragrance of the body after death there is probably no example
in history in which the evidence is so abundant and so overwhelm¬
ing as dun which attests die wondrous |>erfunie which for many
years was exhaled by the mortal remains of St. Tcrrsa herself.
One might almost infer, from die curious phrase she uses describing
die scent as an '* odour of relics,'* that she habitually perceived some
such fragrance in all the relics which she venerated. It is one of
the difficulties in diis soi t of investigation to decide how much is
subjective and how much objective in a phenomenon which some
witnesses perceive and others do not. In the case of the espousals
ring I have mentioned earlier, there w-as at least the possibility of
the concurrent testimony of the two senses of sight and touch. But

1 Ttu Book of tht FiwUatiom, uamluxnJ by Davit) Lrvvu, chap, xjcviii.

mi n \ qv wvannisw

2*8

far ihe?e olfactory marvels we are necessarily dependent upon one
sense alone.

One windy Carmelite nun m particular wai renowned, like her
mni I ter, Si, Terma, for die wonderful perfume which for more
than three years after her death preceded from the celt which she
Lad occupied. Thh wai Donna Miloria Coltmnsi, the daughter
Of Don Filippo, Grand Constable of Naples, but known in religion
as Mother Clare Mar)' of the Passion. Three medical men made
dcpcKii cions regardimr the inexplicable perfume which Lhry hail
perreiwd, not ouco, but many times, in the cell in which Mid her
Mary had died, and die some fact was ljomc witness 10 by
all the community. Moreover, in this case the marvel manifested
itself occnskmaliy during IT , ;.s s for example, when the holy mm
was discoursing with great fervour on the love of God 1

More widely-known, however, h the com of Si. Catherine de p
Ricci, In the ofth i,d investigation*, in view of her canommiort,
we find tome twenty or tinny of the mins in her consent at Prato
bearing witness upon oath to the strange celestial odour which wa*
especially noticeable in die chamber of death, although imne of
tlicm had also pcrcchrd fit similar perfume dinging to her (Ml
certain occasions fax her life-time. Some of the nuns described it
as resembling the scent of iwuok mammnU,, apparently a species of
violet, though these Sowers were not then fat season, but must of
them considered that it could not he compared to the odour of
any I lowers or to any artificial perfumes. It was perceptibly
d her lamb for more than a year, though the body had been
endowed in a leaden coffin- 1

Tu those cases in which a myMrriou* fragrance manifested itself
during hfe T the phenomenon seems generally to have been con*
ncctcd with some ecstatic condition of the subject. Tints we rrad
or St. Veronica Giuliani that the scent necmcd to come fi™
stigmata. Father F. M Salvstfon, in the Ujt of St Frnmm, which
he compiled mainly from the depositions of mmessra m tlsr pm res*
of canonisation, says of her:

Ii is worthy of remark dial when the -dkv.omcnboticd wounds
WC[C "pen. they emitted w :!chciou:, a fragrance throughout the
whole of the convent that this alone was sufficient to uifcnrb the
nuns whenever the itignmu had been renen-ed. ami on seven!

1 It j.;rr, r Fril Mil r Oil y.\ Vaw* (R-,n»r. rfat], op. «, -.3^. *

the depCMiliafti of the uw&cal wtinc**n< tft quitted at Ipunfe
■Se<r tbc i'rfiUtpirtffl uyrf j , ftp, m-u.

THK ODCUTR nr 1 VNUTTIY

22p

occasions, the religious were eommurd 3: y <?ctikr detti Australian
that they liitd uni fcjccu deceived. When tile bandages which had
been applied to diese mysterious wounds w&c put away, they
communicated die stmr sw«i perfume to evurytiling near them.
Tiie Glut L attested by her confidant, itie Blessed Florida GeolL 1

Still more remarkable in some respects Li tIif: case of Sister
Giovanni Maria della ('fore ofRovenedo, who died in 1673. Her
biographer, Weber, who scents to have had access to nil the official
documents und depositions of witnesses, after describing die incT
dent of her mystic espousal to Jeans Christ, continues as follows:

From this lime onwards her finger exhaled a delicious Ira prance,
which she was tillable to hide, and which alt die community soon
became aware of. Consequently they sought every opportunity
to touch it and kin in The perfume which ti gave out was so
powerful that It coiuiinmic.urd itself to the touch and persisted for
a considerable time, 'linn it happened that Staler Mary Ursula,
having touched that finger in the holy min'* first illnos,, her hand
for several days afterwards retained an exq lit die fragrance, This
vc cm was particularly perceptible when Giovatma Maria was ill,
liccau^r site could not then take any preenutiom (u disguise is.
From her finger the perfume extended gradually 10 the whole
Italic! and then to her body, and communicated itself to all the
objects which she touched, It could not he compared to any
earthly scent because it was essentially dilTeiertf, and transfused
sou! and body with an indescribable sweetness. It was more
powerful when she came back from CoinimuiiDm It exuded not
only from her body but also from her clothes long after she had
ceased to wear them, from tier straw mattress and front die objects
m her rwm. It spread through the whole house and betrayed
her comings and her goinge onrl her every movement. The
religionii who were in choir were aware of her approach from the
perfume which was wafted before her before she .-amr in 10 view.
Thai pbmoirtetnm, which Uyted for many years, wid the more
remarkable because naturally she could not endure any Ibrtn of
seem. It was necessary to keep all sudi tilings a* musk and umber
out of the house altogether, because they acted upent her from a
coiJiitdefabk distance even though they were bidden in tile cellar,
and produced a most distressing effect, so mudi so that site would
even faint away on the apol. The only scent which did her no

* SalvatOft, Lift vf Si. J Vrnnsnj titr*/iLinj| Lni7 tAffl., pp.

330 THIS PHYSICAL PTtEMOaiUtA QT MYSTICISM

harm was that which breathed from her own person. Often new
novices who joined the Order came to die convent wearing,
recording to ihr fashion of the times, scented necklaces of pearl or
cnr.il. She wns so painfully affected by these objects that she could
nni crime near the wearers* and it was found necessary to require
them to lay them aside M the convent gate in order to save the
Mother Abbes from tile risk of a Twutm or some other indisposition* 1

One of the Suien, when giving rvideru e in the inquiry which
preceded the protest of hcaiificntioii, speaks of an occasion w hen
the Mother Abbess* overcome when &i prayer by ,1 tit if weeping,
found herself without a hodclkcrtlucil The Sis let proffered hcii,
which the Abbess accepted gratefully and returned after wiping her
eyes and cheeks. The handkerchief thus restored exhaled an
KQlCgjtlicabIc and t Mpaw fragrances Another di.n.ictfii^fc ..f
these phenomena in the case of Giovanna Maria was. as her
biographer pom** out, that this mysterious perfume waxed and
waned according in the event* of the ecclesiastical year The
odqur w,v, Ratably more protuiiincix) upon the feasts of our Lady
and readied its climax on the great fattivaU of our Lord, but
diminished on ordinary dayi-

Tlits case i* a fidr specimen of several others which have been
recorded. Perhaps the mu4 striking is that of Si. Maria Francesca
drib Cinque Piaglie, it Franciscan nun, who died at Naples in
■7D 1, Here again we arc told of the drlicnuu fragrance which
riling not only to her habit, hut to everything she touched. Ai
lirr biographer sratry Cl tier a careful, study of the procett of
litori fica lion :

There S hardly one. of the numerous witneste* whose evidence
u reported in the Surtunarium who dews not speak in explicit
term» of tin perfume, at id in order that there 1 night be no doubt
that the favour carnc to her ft mi her Mother Man and from her
divine Spouse, it wai regularly observed that this phenomenon
manifcnieci iudf with special inirnriiy on the great festival* of our
Lady and nn the Fridays in March on which she participated
myiitcrrioiisiy in the sufferings of Christ's Passion * 1

Snrne of my reader' will perhaps remember that St* Maria
Francesca was otic of the more remarkable iirnony stigmatized

1 St Weber, hn V. Jr-tmr Stmt it U Oaiz i Frnncii train.)* pp. j. -j x

1 fl L.wioea, f':M 11 V Alun-i thlU 1 , 1 * 71 * (Rome 1 865.1, p. 86 L

T1IF- ODOUli Ot SAXCTTTV

wuntt. In the taac of the Doaiinkm nun, Agnes of J C>u:>, Prioress
of Langesc, who died; in 1634, we Stave another example of a
wonderful perfume, attested bv many witnesses including drum-
guished by-folk and medical men. These manifestations were
partiLiilarJy remarked after death in connection with her tCfflab, 1
and they seem to have been enwjfthcd to certain exceptionally

favoured individual* who suddenly were enmdom of a heavenly
fragrance and were moved by it to ardent devotion, though to
others at the same time the fragrance was not perceptible. None
the less, we further learn that during bet lifetime her cell w hi ai
it were embalmed with perfume which also at times exhaled from
her person. 3 There arc a consideublt! number of such cases in
which little detail a available except by an examination of lhe
processes of beatification, and these are not readily come by* but
a general resemblance seems 10 run through them all, and what
has already been said will probably suffice; m illustrate the kind of
evidence which they offer. 1 But one example which ought not to
paw without special mention L that of the Blessed, Maria degli
Angcli, who died .it Turin in 1717. She was a lady of noble
family, who liecame a Carmelite at the age of fifteen. The convent
was especially dear to the royal house or Piedmont, and one of the
Princesses of that family, in the process of beatification, made 4
deposition: undcj oath 10 the following effect;

As 4 proof of the holiness of tills servant of God I would appeal
to die incomparable fragrance which made itself roamfcsl in the
places where slat lived or thrmich which dje passed: The sweet*
ness of this perfume resembled nothing earthly. The more one
breathed it the more delicious it became. It was specially percept
table on the feasts of our Lady, of St. Joseph, of St. Teresa, during
solemn nnvenas and at the holy seasons of Christmas, Buster and
Pentecost. The Indies of my suite were conscious of it os well as
myself, and whni astonished me more than all else was the fact
tlot after tht death of the ■servant of God 1 noticed And still con¬
tinue to notice this perfume in live cdl she occupied, although every
object which it formerly combined hu.v been taken out of it.

A number of witnesses, so we learn From tile Life of Blessed

1 Limoges rt l.utoi, Vm 4 * U F, Mitt Apstj d* Jim, Vol. 11 , pp. 535-34.

1 thi 4 -. prf. ,|fl and 533.

* \ ma> mention Si, Cmhesiru: dt Roocraiigi, Maria Viliam, and Mary
Mifgirct aT thr Angela

aga Tin: tirvucAi. phekohsra or iivstrasM

Maria, gave evidence to the vimc eTHret in the process of beatifim-
Unii. " When we wanted: Reveraid Mother/* said erne of Ki r
duuls, " and could not find 3 nu in 1 , r r cell, we tiled (a trscL her by
Use fragrance she had left behind." She, on lin pan, made every
effort to conceal this Con Untied miracle und even went so far as to
carry evil-smelting objects to Iir t cell, but It w.n all of no use. 1

This sort rjJ olfactory plienfuneiion does not sersu to br met with
qtihe gn frequently Ln the records of modem ascetics, Lut 1 may
call attention 10 at least two instances of comparatively recent date.
Shier Mary of Jesui Crucified,, the Carmelite nun of Pau, wim
died at Bethlehem in 1878, wm favoured in tins way. tier bio¬
grapher, Petr Estrate, tdb us:

Sjjtce Lhe death of the holy Sister, several Carmelites both at
Bethlehem and Pau have been c-Jitscioui pf a delicious perfume in
many places which she once frequented. This fact remind* lu:
that the same sweet fragrance was often noticed to proceed frutu
her when she was still living.’

! hr «K»m in which die died was also inexplicably perfumed,
and the odour clung nj the dress of all who visited it. 3

1 S-mb-MArv, V-j 4 f d P. I fair Jtf Aqpa pp. ipS sq., wid |\ AtiieSmo,

t rr.- j . np, 41 - 3 .

■ bursts, \ r u 4* S. Md it it Jiim p. 3 ^ 4 ,

1 The tilltu who mrrnrtl M^rqirrt Reilly m httiuklEl K.V. churned that wjieo
« L|P -i.orr viw^J thrif cUpel ItUt nl ni^hs in pm* ,l wumletfU] fraRiiner tvJtt
llirr^ Jiffccru Anlt W Jtrn tJiii itigmafirn W!*nt a ic£<uh 1 Cunr u> pfjy r

lin- BCCQipMlucd h> *:vnml jjunj, H0• i ihi# limp th.-rc WJU no IriiyfiEire
Margaret £i::S iltat ci<r Id'-uu? wiii ma inlnl ili«n N . 4 uvt thrv esmr from
WW'Wtfcy moEbn, Morgan:* Reilly iho,3 m rfj]?, J.H.C

CHAPTER X

TXCORRUrTION

I T may be said that nearly all the phenomena which we have
been considering in this volume arc characterized by a certain
dement of mystery * Why should these extraordinary gifts Ire
conceded to some holy people and withheld from others ? Not a
few mystics in whom audb manifestations a* those oi levitation,
nUgmadia tion, perfumed emanations, ctc* t have been most con¬
spicuous, liavc never been canoniiied. On the other hand, many
oi those who, both by common estimation anil the judgment of
tlic Church* arc held up for veneration as among the most eminent
of Gods servants* have been entirely devoid of these special marks
of the Divine favour. As I have more than once previously noted,
it is not the aim of this volume to solve problems, but to state and
classify beta. But it stemj particularly nctcssar, to reiterate [Jib,
caution in approaching a question where the apparent inconsistency 1
of God’s dealings with Hb elect is more than usually pturiing and
difficult of explanation.

The phenomena may conveniently be divided into six different
categojic-j. 13 ;cy arc: (i) a preternatural fragrance perceived in
the neighbourhood of the body of the deceased, a fragrance which
sometimes persist* for month* or even for years, A well-attested
case 1 $ that of St* Teresa of Avila, (a) The alleged complete
absence of cadaveric rigor ► (3) Immunity fmm natural decay,

lasting in some cases for centuries, though in those here to be
considered such agencies as saponification, embalming, desiccation,
the use of scaled metal coffins, etc*, have to be excluded* (4) The
bleeding of venerated corpses after an Interval of weeks, month* or
^ven yeaiis. An instance in point Is the Sow of liquid blood from
the nostrils nf St, Catherine of Bologna three months after she had
for ,t fortnight been buried in the earth and had been again ex¬
humed. i L 5j Much less frequent, but occasionally reported on
what seems reliable evidence, $1 ihc persistence of warmth* some- *
tbnr of a notably high temperature, in the cadaver long after life
16

234 THS PilYSlCIAl, FBtMdUWA OF MYSTICISM

appears to be exti net. When a lurgeon opened the body' of Maria
ViH.ini nine hours after death t*. extract the heart, the heat was
such that he coaid not at first retain his hand in tile abdominal
cavity, 1 (6) There are a few cam In w hich the dead saint is
alleged to have raised his arm in benediction, or lifted hi? foot to
be kissed, or turned fib head towards the Blessed Sacrament, or
covered the pudenda when the body was being redothed, Very
expheit evidence of this last marvel may be found in the account
given by the Omiorian Father* who prepared the body of Si,
Philip N'eri for the grave. In this and some similar instances, the
possibility of catalepsy nr trance scorn to be excluded by the
dmimstancn, of the eyjc.

Already in the fourth century we fmd home familiarity with the
idea of incorrupt! or. Pan I cm in, the secretary, if we tnay so des¬
cribe him, of the great Si. Ambrose of Milan, has left ur a memoir
of Ilia rmiitcr in the form of a letter addressee] to St, Augustine.
As to the authenticity of this document (here is, practically ijieak-
ing. no dispute. Opinions muj difTci widely as to the historical
trustworthiness of the writer. He records many marvellous ineb
dents, and we may suspect him of exaggerated panegyric, but he at
any rate reflects the tone of thought of devout Christians at die
close of (lie fourth century. Now, Paulin us in speaking of the
discovery by St, Ambrose U. 596) of the l»ody of the nwtyr St.
Narariiu, v/ntc as follows;

At this time he (Ambrose) found the body of the holy martyr
Norariui which had been interred in a garden outside the city
(Milan), and he t<mk it up nnd transf er re d it to the Basilica of
die Apoiths beside the highway which leads to Rome, Now, in
the tomb in which the lx>dy of dial martyr lay—as to die date
at which he suiFered we have down to the present been able to
learn nothing—we saw the martyr’s blood as fresh as if it had
been shed that same day. Further, his head, which die wretches
had cut off was 30 perfect and free from corruption Uta integrum
af<jpt* incorrupjim) with all its hair and the beard, that it looked
to U 5 j at the time wc moved it, as if it had been washed and laid
Out for inspection there in the tomb. And why should we wonder,
rinee our Lurd lung ago promised rn the gospel that not a hair of
ihdr head should perish, Also we were overwhelmed at the same

'See Mircboe. VIM iMia Atm <fi Di* JSW Marin Viliam (\a,p!ej 1674), pn,
bO^~ 10 Snr died in 167U, anil ihn 1 Latc(flf»t niLiit OHiKqu cully Live’ been
pruned white the* wttuc&ej wm .-till Alive,

INCORRUPTIOX

335

time with so heavy a fragrance that it surpassed all perfumes in
sweetness. 1

As to the fact of some Lranslation of the body of Sl Mazariuj
we have confirmatory evidence in the writings o: .St PauIUius of
Xo!a (a contemporary j and .duo in St. Gregory of Tours, hut it is
only from Paulin ur the secretary that we learn 5*1 definitely drat
die head of die martyr showed no trace of tH-urnpiion. Whether
th it. is the earliest iceurdcd example of die phenomenon in (JhrL-
tian history I am unable to say, hut die number of iiufcwurei in
which the uime marvellous immunity from the horror* of the tomb
lias been observed in subsequent ,igta is almost incredibly great.
It will he iufikieni in passing to icqaiI T tu connected with our own
country, Lhe famous caso of St. Cuilibm, Si. VViUifnord, St.
Elp!icge t St. Edward die Confessor, St. Hugh* Iti .liop of Lincoln,
St, Edmund, Archbishop of Canterbury, St, Ethddrcds, of Ely,
and St, WerEmrgj of Chester, Neither can it be said that this
form or manifestation has ccoserl in modem times. Si. Mad-
dcine Sophie Barar, the foundress of the Society of the Sacred
Heir t, died in 1865. Twenty-eight years afterwards her body was
found almost perfectly cmirt, although the coffin was partly
decayed anti covered with mildew. A simitar immunity from
corruption was l>estowed tu St, John Baptist Vhirnry, the
famoui Cur£ d’Arq who died iti 1859 and was beatified in UJ05.
Hardly less edebratod i i the rojum/r of Lourdes, BcrnadetSr Spu-
birons, with whose vidom of Out Lady in the grotto of Maiiabidtle
the whole wonderful story of the fountain and its cutes be^.in.
Bernadette died in the humble obscurity ol die Convent of St,
Gildard at Xcvers in iByn. being then 34 Year* of age. In igog
her body was exhumed, and we arc told by an eyewitness:

N'ot tint least trace of corruption nor any bad odour could be
perceived in the corpse of our Iwloved sister. Even the habit in
which die was buried was intact. The face was somewhat brown,
the eyes slightly sunken, and she seemed to be sleeping. The damp
funeral garment* were exchanged fur new onca. The body was
placed hi 4 nnv zinc codm lined with white silk. Within it was
placed a record enclosed in a glass tube and giving an account < f
the opening of the coffin and the condition of the body. Afirr

1 fT, Vol, XIV. f>. jS" Equal I 1 . < trfixit l c iru| rvnn mure rdijible ii

the Itcoiim left by Eugippiu* rtf th* body f Sr $py?THUB (died ilw ajttjflk
of Norintfi Sjk yean after death h;i ti'-dv w*t foumi frjffiiMit and intumipt
fSeefLVol LlXII, p 1H}J orCS-£U W1 ... i?

s^ 1 ' 1 niE rHVWCrtL PHMMtfi OF MYHTCE&4

tliis the coffin was again deposited in the mortuary chapel in our
garden. 1

Tlie-r last three examples roe interesting because no one will
pretend that the repute for sanctity which attaches to these names
owes anything to the condition in which their mortal remains were
discovered long after death, Nu doubt there may have been cat
in the post where a supposed miracle of ineroruptkm has darted
a whole culttLs* Baron Friedrich von Htlgel h inclined tn attribute
to this cause the outburst of popular enthusiasm which eventually
brought about the canonization of SL CatherittC of Genoa. Hr
tclh us, quoting from the original sources, how Githerfue** body
was left for about eighteen months in els first resdng-plarc by one
oF the walls of the hospital church. I 3 ut then " U was found that
the spot was damp, mring to .1 conduit of water miming under
the wall. And the resting-place wm bmlteti up, and the coffin Wits
opened: and the holy body was found entire from head to foot
wiflioiit any kind of Iriiun. - After that we ltarn that ihcre was
a goeat cuacmuxe of people to -cc the remains, which were left
exposed foe eight days and then were t ran ported lo .mother site,
Baron von HOjpeJ 1 * final conclusion is that U was Lite men eruption
wfdch gave the first, and, as it turned out, an abiding impulse to
the popular devotion. Indeed, as wc shall see Laier on, it 11 highly
improbable that, hut for this condition of the body, a coitus would
ever h ive arisen snffidrnriy popular and permanent to Lear] on to
the cation and Canonization. Bio as tiling now stood, the

movement had hero set going, and it continued on and on.*

’I 1 u> may quite conceivably be a just interpretation of the course
nf events so for ns concerns the eunonizaiinn of ht. Catherine of
Ceucn, but it certainly cannot he maintained, and die learned
critic referred to would nol dream t f suggesting, that in all *urh
c.tscs of fncornipticm it k the accidental immunity From physical
decay which had Dm attracted popular attention and paved the
way for a formal decree. «,f canoukaLum k would l !l5 . absurd to
suppose that the veneration which attaches to the names of St.
Teresa* St. Francis Xavier, St, Philip Ncri, or Si. Catherine of
SicEia t owed anything to the fact that their remains liar! uo t
allowed to set Corruption in tin- ordinary course of naim-c. Xo

* Kempt. lltJirttu fU Gb/tth m Urn AnrlmtA Cm tmj t Eng. Turn,, p, an,

1 T,-~ V/miftJ ^V.’rrnE -f I, p.,

[^CORRUPTION

* 3 1

reasonable person can doubt that these ^ervanli or God would have
been canonized even if :lie common Law of dual to dust had pre¬
vailed tit tiidr case from the first. Bui besides such names as those
just mentioned. which arc known lo all [he world independently
of creed, i litre s restores t if others, great missionaries, great founders
of religious instilutes, great preachers, "real ascetics, great prac¬
tises of the spiritual and corporal work* of mercy, whose fame has
owed nothing at all lo the accident that, many years after their
work wvu done ,md their histories written, the bodies in which they
had moved amongst men weic found immune from decay and
sometimes fragrant, l ake, for example; suds a i use as dial of St,
Viriccul dc Paul, whme IjoHtleis w.ia famous all over France long
before hia life had ended. He dkd in HS6o, and it was only after
numbe;h:E3 petitions for lus <-iriomiJtiuEi hud bccu addressed to
Rome that dir cause virus tjcgun, and that there took place in 17 rsi
an ofiidal inspection of the remains. More than fifty years had
elapsed since the burial, but none the less when the tomb was
opened, “ everything," to tue the words of an eye-witness, " was
an when he had been luid there. The eyes and nose alone showed
some decay h I counted eighteen teeth, The body was not dis¬
turbed, but those who approached saw at once that It wa: mu ire
and that the soutane was not in the least damaged hy lime. N'o
offensive udour was perceived, and the doctors testified that tluc
body could not dins have twen preserved for &o lung a period by
any natural means,* 1 * It tntLii Ik- .ulmiitcd that the integrity was
not complete, and that when the tomb was again opened twenty*
five years buer most of Uic tissues had been solved into dusl, but
the decay then observed seems to have been due to certain Hoods
which had occurred during die interval. Similarly at about the
same dale we have remarkable accounts preserved to ui. of die
trail da dons of the famous Dominican Nun the Venerable Mother
Agnes of Jeans, Prioress of l*aiigeac. She was the friend and
spiritual mother of Monsieur Oiler, the founder of Saint Sulpscc.
Her death took place October 19, TG34, and the body was buried,
without rvUccralinrj or any process of rmhalming, like those ni
other member* of the community, in ih^ chapter hotter. After
framer years the bidiop, in view of the pmccdiue for hef beatific^

1 J Ivrr.H-, thiir laid (ban Mrt. iVau^ud'i tli ttipj 1/ St loar*:! di /\aJ,
£nff. Tnmt,. M f> 19-3 ti w piracutub' Hated ihat in thb cimrcli oTHc Ljxbjip
where tJir S-uut'i body rri«»ca it WJJ quite an iiobm^a lliiny w find any £urp*i
ettlirr- See Ahdly, Vu dt Si. fruimif dt fW lEd. Vnl, V. p. 22 1; anti lull

more fu3f> M,iviurJ ; St. dt Vc|. TV, jtjj. a > 0 “i The viscera iitd

tKcii rczqnved bm lit!: Iiudy n^rt cmbabttBh

^3^ THE PHYSICAL MtEftOMOfA Of MYStlCtlM

lion, wished the remain* to t>c interred apitrL The body was then
found entire and without truce of corruption. Other translations
And inspectiop* followed down to 1778, The tlcsh of the face and
other uncovered pans til Integra ted in time, bul more than once,
and notably in itx>8 and in 1778, the scientific experts, surgeons
ami doctor* of medicine, pronounced that the preservation of the
!»dy vita, humanEy speaking, inexplicable In several of the
reports, which are verv fully given b\ Iter biographers, Lucot and
I-iitiages, the emanation tif an cxtratrrdmary perfume h um the
laxly is mm Ji insisted upij

Or let us take for another example the cAv of a jicai Spanish
bishop, St. Thomas, of Villa nova, Archbishop of Valencia, who died
in *555- Twenty-three years after Ids burial a certain Canon of
die Cathedral wished to manifest his devotion to the holy prelate
by enclosing the tomb, up to rhis quite open. with a railing of
bronze, and hanging a costly stiver Limp above it. To carry out
this work it wav found necessary to disturb the tomb, and we ate
icild dial 4* a coiLieguriice of litis digging the whole church was
filled with perfume. Further it Lt stated that the U^dy iuteir was
uncovered and wax found absolutely whole and entire, exactly .u
it had been on the dav of the burial, the fra turn tsll wearing the
same sweet expression. fills w« tin- mme remarkable because,
with the view apparently of frustrating the plans of certain ceded*
aaijcs. who were suspected of a design to carry the treasure off* the
corpse of ihe Archbishop had been buried at some depth and in
the actual soil,*

Of courser It must lie rcGOgiuEed throughout in dealing with this
subject that cisne* of t rnnarkahte ami seemingly unaccountable
fTTcservaiiicm oj human remain* :tre sufficiently common to mate tl
rather di Hindi to decide in any individual instance that the absence
of corruption is due to anyihing mure than mere tginddrncc. We
have bodies strangely dc^ecami Ukr the natural mummies fJ f p Cf u,
of which a good many specimens may he seen in the tmthropologicai
museum of the Trf*..idert> In Faris, We have other* pre ser ved from
putrefaction in guano, of which Frank flu. liiud gives an account
in ihe fourth icrirr of his r arwtiiif t 0/ \aUirdi itistery. Then there
arc the dried and shrivel Ird corpses in the gruesome Capuchin
ccmererii^. of Palermo And Malta. "They arc all dressed in the
clothes they usually wore ... the skin and muscles become as dry
.and hard a piece of stockfish, and though ninny of them have
« is- Uni^jr-. J'iVj'/.'.T t MhrAf*i: Ujlnti [Paris 1863) Vd. IJ , pj, 3^^,

1 V— like .In* £iKb**If, September, VoL V., p, 9^0.

LNCOfvRl niON

*39

been here upwards of two hundred and fifty years, yet none are
Ttduecd to skeletons/ 11 Somewhat different from these are the
bodies so curiously preserved in one of the Dublin chrtrchcL

As is wdl known, the preservative qualities of the vaults under
St, Michan's Church are most remarkable, and decay in Ute bodies
committed to them is strangely arrested. The latest writer on the
subject in a short notice or the church speaks of being struck
(among oihosj " by a pathetic baby corpse, from whose plump
wrists still hang the faded white ribbons of im funeral/** This
coffin bean the date 1&79; yet the very finger and toe nnib of the
child are still distinct. The antiseptic qualities are believed to be
largely attributable to die extreme dryness of the vault? and In die
great freedom of their atmosphere fmm dujt particles.*

Further, there are other corpses in which the normal process of
decay is arrested by saponification, anti there seems to be also a
certain number of sporadic examples—perhaps the case of the body
iif the great English canon 1st Bishop Lyric?wode, which was found
centuries after his death, wrapped in cereHdolh but quite entire,
may serve as an illustration—for which it is difficult to assign any
adequate explanation. The Orthodox Russian Church includes
amongst its uitm a confidcndjlr number nf huh ops and oilier
ascetics whose remains Ivave Iwen found entire some time .Tier
their deaths; indeed, this incorrupt condition serms 10 be regarded,
theoretically at least, As a necessary condition for canonization in
tluit Gommuniort^* The in corruption of the holy tnan’j remains i*
1 ilh chilly vn down as our uf thr conditions u liidi utvc io be verified
before any reputed servant of Grxl can be cAnnmzcd. Renders of
Dostoievsky's romance, Tht Bmhits. KtummdQ&b, may remember the
tremendous sensation caused when n wits discovered that the corpse
of a holy ascetic, one of the characters t herein* was betraying un»
mis taka ble signs uf the onset of putrefaction. It seemed to be taken
for granted that he must have been a hypocrite. At Kiev there b a
famous u laura/* known as that of the Poetry, which Has -> tori of
necropolis attached to ii containing 73 Indies of 11 sainta/* all
mummified and lying in open roffim, robed in rirli vsMinciUs
Tht condition of these remain* seems to be very similar to that of the

1 Brydont, Tear tk ren^A Sit lfjr it'.'/ Mufa, EL, p, 1 07.

1 D. A Ctuut, Sim ■?/ ptibttn..

1 H. I : Berry, M R I.A Tht fb&attf ;/th* 1 Chttrth if St. tfkbm (DobEtn, lore ,
PttLifr. n. uj.

»Str I Boil in IHftwmsirr :ir Th'nia^ir Cnf.Wiflw, Vul 11 . pp. r iki 5 -hj; and
<f, P. Fatten. In Met/uiimI, XXXIII 11*14', PP- 41 j «t|.

tub physical phenoukna of mysticism

corpses in the Capuchin burial crypt at Palermo. Similarly,
Hassert, in his account of Montenegro, speaks of the incorrupt corpse
of the hermit St. Basil of Ostrog, and notes liow he was expected to
km the dried-up (vatnekntU) hand. 1 So abo Schwarz saw the Ixxly
of St. Peter I, the Vladika at Getienjc, who died in 1830. He
speaks of “ dieser dOrre, stcinhartc Kadaver.”* But such details
exist in abundance in works dealing with travel through the rrgiom
in which the Orthodox Church is dominant.

But it is not only the multitude of examples of bodies naturally
preserved from decay which creates a difficulty against any prema¬
ture appeal to the interference of supernatural agencies. There is
also the fact tlmt the occurrence of the phenomenon is extremely
arbitrary', and, to judge by human standards, inconsistent. So far
as the available evidence allows us to speak positively, there is
every reason to believe tluit this special privilege of in’eomi ption
was not accorded to some of the greatest saints who have glorified
the Church in the course of the last eight centuries. Neither in
the case of St. Bernard, nor St. Francis of Assisi, nor St. Dominic,
nor St. Ignatius Loyola, nor St. Vincent Ferrer, nor St.John Baptist
dc la Salle, nor St. Alphonsus Liguori, nor St. Clare, “ the Seraphic
Mother, nor St. Bridget of Sweden,* have we any satisfactory
evidence that their mortal remains were exempted from the com¬
mon lot of humanity. On the other hand, while the privilege has
been conferred upon a large number of simple and ecstatic souls,
whose sojourn in this world seems to Itave been a continued antici¬
pation of the angelic intuitions of Paradise, die mnjoritv of these
who have been canonized for their innocence of life, and, if one
may so speak, for their precocious sanctity, have not been the
recipients of this special favour. St. Aioysius Gonzaga, whose
festival is celebrated by the Universal Church as that of the Patron
of Youth, was not found incorrupt. Neither, again, was the holy
Passionist, Sl Gabriel (Possenti) of Our Lady of Sorrows, who was
canonized recently. The same is true of St. John Berchmam.
Now St. Gabriel was just twenty-four when he died, St. Aioysius
twenty-three, and St. John Berchmans twenty-two.* One would

* Raster!, Rnn Junk MtnUntrrt (Vimna, 1893), p 37.

• Schwan . ; Leipzig. 1883), pp. 81-a.

•Sl. Bridget died cm *5 July, 1373. On 17 September at the toair year her
reniaim were eahumed; there wu nothing left but a clean skeleton. while dust

* FUVlffny ‘ S ‘ BnJClUl * W t* 506. With

•St. Stanislaus Koatka is said to have hero found incomtnt two
death (cf. /WWm, VoL *i. p 460. and Vul "g

account is unsaristmtary and no detail, are given. ** 3 5 bMl ,bc

tWCORRUFTION

24»

have thought that if anything could be regarded as likely to exempt
any son of man from the curse laid upon us through our hither
Adam, it would !>e the virginal innocence of lives such as these,
and yet it is certain that in a very few years all these bodies were
reduced to dust. In the case of holy virgins of the other sex we
have perhaps rather more examples of incorruption at a relatively
early age. Sl Rose of Viterbo, whose body remnined intact for
many centuries, is commonly said to have died at the age of
eighteen, but this is quite uncertain. We know that she died in
the middle of tlic thirteenth century, but we have no record of the
exact year, and still less of the year of her birth. St. Rose of
Lima, whose body was exhumed and (bund quite entire six months
after death, was thirty-one when she passed to a better world. 1
St. Clare of MonteJalco, one of the most famous Italian examples
of immunity from putrefaction. lived u> the age of thirty-three.
Tlic following account of the body of St. Clare of Monteifalco is
given in the Cvmhill Magazine for October i88i. The writer is—of
ail people in the world—Mr. John Addington Symonds:

A handsome young man appeared who conducted us with decent
gravity into a little darkened diambcr behind the altar. There
he lighted wax tapers, opened sliding doors in what looked like
a long coffin, and drew curtains. Before us in the dim light there
lay a woman covered with a black nun's dress. Only her liands
and the exquisitely beautiful pale outline of her fare forehead,
nose, mouth, and chin, modelled in purest outline, :ts though the
injury of death had never touched her) were visible. Her dosed
eyes seemed to sleep. She had the perfect peace of Luini's St.
Catherine borne by angels to her grave on Sinai. 1 have rarely
seen anything which surprised and touched me more, ... S.
Chiara's shrine was hung round with her relics; and among these
the heart extracted from her body was suspended. Upon it,
apparendy wrought into the very substance of die mummified
Uesh, were impressed a figure of the crucified Christ, die scourge,
and the five stigmata. 'Hie guardian's faith in this miraculous
witness to her sainthood, the gentle piety of the men and women
who knelt before it, checked all expressions of incredulity.

St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi, mentioned by Pope Benedict XIV
as a celebrated instance of the same phenomenon, was forty-one

1 Si. Germain - Cousin (} 1601) was iwrnty-two at her death. The body was
found incorrupt forty yemn later.

2-f 2 THE P K Vi tC A 1 UKEMJMENA QT YfYSTtrtTCM

the time of her death, BJesKd Manana of Jesus, known ai the
* { Lily of Quito/' was relatively quite young. She went to heaven
a I the age of iwrutv-fuur. A month later, when her body was
UnjuTerrcd to a new.' tomb, it was found beautiful and supple like
that of one who had just died. However, three yean afterwards
(in i&fG), the coffin was again opened, and all the flesh had then
crumbled to dust, though there came from the remains a fragrant
perfume which filled die whole church. Of mure recent date is
the rather extraordinary case of Maria Chrbthia, the daughter of
\>tor Emmanuel I, K ing of Piedmont, and Uriel.- of Ferdinand II,
King of the Two Sicilies. She had been married nearly four years
when she died in 1836, at the age of twenty-four, Portly after die
Mnk of her only child. Seventeen years inter, when lJte cause of
her beatification Jiad been introduced lh the result of many alleged
miracles, the body is said to have been found intact.» It is, of
course, pouffe that some embalming pi nows had been resorted to
after death, but this is iiiji tinted, aitrl it is difficult £0 suppose tha t
the immunity of die remains from corruption could, have been
accounted in any way wonderful ir tUh had taken place. Another
curious instance, belonging still more nearly iu our own times, U
that of Father Paid Mary Pakctihaiu, CP. In [850, Captain the
l bnu Chads Fatenham, of the Grenadier Guards, who, through
his aunt, Lady Katherine Pakenham, the wife of the first Duke of
Wellington, was the nephew by marriage of the hrru of Waterloo*
w *s receivr.! into the Catholic Church, He cmcred the P.usionin
Older and Itwatnc .1 pries', but after less than two years of very
fervent ministry, he died in the beginning of March tfigy at the
age of thirty-six. Now in the Memoir'of Father Paul Mary,
published Ln 1915,* we find the follniving interesting account of the
exhumation of Itit reiiiLUiL*:

fti March iGrjq. thirty-*eve*i years after the happy death of
Father Paul Mary, die chapel built by him. which had lone stood
useless* was finally removed in give w ay to a new cemetery for the
u*c of the religious community at Mount Argus, During the
removal of the remain* of the dead religious Ihjnj the old burial
plate to the new, the members of the limn community, doubtless
moved by holy curiosity, had the coffin containing the body of
Father Phtil Mary Pnkenham opened. WheihcT it was due to

1 See *t, Kempt IMimw At Obrri ir At ,Vurfata*d CmUpj^ p . jJU

J \f*j Mdn Pistmiit Bv the Rev, Jo*,* Siimk C P. rS^mi, ^
Cu.. Edinburgh, 191^ p, 117.

INCORRtFFTIfl*

natural or juperrjamral cause* we do nut care lo conjecture but
the body was then found perfectly in met and incorrupt, and the
face wore a matt lifelike exprasfon as of one who lay in .1 peaceful
slumber, The writer hod the happiness of being present on that
occasion and will never forget the sight, nor the emotion of some
members of die original community who stood by the coffin then
as they stood bv ii in thin fresh sorrow for their saintly lather's
loss almost forty years before The coffin was afterward* closed
and reverently lowered Into its new noting place where now,
close beneath the great Celtic cross which over shadow's the ccme*
lerv, all that is mortal of father Paul Mary Pakenhatn awaits die
resurrection of the just.

It must not, of course, he supposed that we are always left so
completely without guidance regarding tile n.uiiral nr supcttHiTuial
origin of these intcrfcmico with th e ordinary pmcc&iei of decay,
as in the two cases just cited. No examples would he more sug¬
gestive of design on die part of Divine Providence th.^n those in
which the exemption fmm corruption h only partial, as for instance
in the preservation ufthc tongue of St. Anthony of Padua, when all
dje rest of tint body bad crumbled to dust Unfortunately, irt
many cases rtf this class the historical evidence is apt in lie defective
on one side or die othr ; I hat St. Anthony's tongue was in reality
found red, toft and entire can luirdly be doubted* The BaJhindists
give an engraving of it in its reliquary a* it existed in their day,
more than ,pio years after his lifetime. But after all, the recorded!
facts of thr history or St. Anthony fumlih no dear and outstanding
reason why t he tongue of the Saint should have lieen preserved, in
preference, let us say, to hi?, heart or his right hand. In the
similar rase of St. John Nqinmuccu, who died a martyr to the
secrecy of the confessional, the preservation of the tongue is entirely
appropriate and significant, but the evidence dial lids orija jj was
specially singled out to be alone immune from corruption mig ht
perhaps be stronger than it is. Still, Benedict XIV tclb us 111 hia

Canoni^aUfftif Sxm-tonsn: ’ that a forma! ntamirvaiion was made uf
this delit ate mciabn in 17^5, 3% years after Xcpomueen'i martyr¬
dom, The scientific experts found that it w.ii rmfri-, retaining the
normal shape, she and colour tif tlir tongue of a living man, and
further that it was still both *nft and flexible* Certainly it would
seem very hard to suggest any natural explanation of the phenu-
mcnon, am} Benedict, who, at he informs ui, was Promoter Fidei

1 Ljti. IV', I**fi t, cap * 30, 5 **,

244 THE J'JlYSIdAl- PUENOlIIIKA l» MViTJCIilt

{vulgarly +J Drvi 1 *s A d loot ! r ") at tile iimr this investigation look
place, after doing his best to ar^ue against it, fully concurred in die
decision of the Congregation or Sacred Rites that this wonderful
conservation of The tongue might be accepted cm an authentic
CTumcle of the rerotid class, Another example is the uaigue of
B. Battista Varanl {sec AA.SS. May, Vol, XXXI) alone preserved
incorrupt. The body bad been found incorrupt thirty years after
death. A very arbitrary confessor ordered die nuns to rebun it
between two plxiiks and to wiitcr the raUh thrown into the grave
and beat it down, pcriiaps to blot out all memory of the place of
burial, lu 1593, some Uuriy-six years Liter, the thrive was again
opened and the hones of die beata were found* stall fragrant, along
with the dust of the body, while the tongue alone remained in*
corrupt, still moist and of a ruddy colour* So die event is recurded
in PtwcnccPi Life (3, 13) which Was wclttcit in 1630, and which h
quoted by the Holland isU. Unfortunately, the evidence is not
stwayi so satisfactory, nor the application so obvious. The heart
trf St. Bridget of Sweden may have been found fresh and entire
when ad thi: rest gave her bones was reduced tq dust, but, apart
from tesliriKJTur^ to prove the permanence of the heart in the same
mue, we cannot altogether rale om die possibility of coincidence.
Similarly for the alleged pt enervation t>r the hand of St. Stephen
of Hungary, or again, of the hand of our own King Oswald, or of
die thumb of St, KJiih of Wilton, the evidence must be held kr be
lacking in that historical precision which can alqne bring entire
conviction. With regard, however, to the general question of
immunity fram corruption, and in particular with regard tq certain
specially chosen examples* there are still several considers tiom
which would prevent us from regarding the phenomenon at in all
case* explicable by natural causes,

In (he light of the facts appealed to in the preceding pages, and
of other facet observed, for example, in those fallen in battle who
have been I tastily interred and afterward! exhumed, it must be
admitted that the 1 am which govern die dlecompoutipo of the
human body are '.cry complicated aict] arc still imperfectly under¬
stood. The editors of the meat authoritative EnijUih treatise on
Medical Jurisprudence do not hesitate to speak as follow*

"Hie action of lTl environment, the inherent potentialities qf the

rSCORRVPTIOM

245

micjribcsj and the suite of iheir vitality at any moment involve
Jtich an enormous number of varying md variable factors that it
becomes quite impossible to explain on a rational basis of ascer*.
tan in! fact , « , the extraordinary variations in the circumstances
of putrefaction tint liave been observed; 1

Tr. the same sian&nd work we mny read that " sometime- one
body has been found more decomposed after six or eight months
Imriul than another which hm lain interred for a period of eighteen
months or two years,*** While a distinguished American authority
sayv 11 I haie *eoi Isodie* buried two mentis that have shown
fewer of tire changes produced by putrefaction than others dead
but a week/’* None the Jess, by common experience, it remains
undoubtedly (roc that, apart from die occurrence uf quite txccp-
tonal external conditions, of extreme cold, decomposition docs
set in sooner or biter, and that unmistafctfjle signs of its approach
m general discernible long before a fortnight lias elapsed after
death. I Utthtt, we seem to be justified in drawing the conclusion
dial all knowledge in this matter is iriU Largely empirical. The
medical expe rt ,f the present day cannot claim t& be very much
better informed than His brother of the seventeenth century* In
the one rase as in the oilier, lie can only say, when confronted with
an Individual example of incornipdou: " Here is a case which in
mv experience is extremely unusUnL I cannot ex p tain w hy tile
proecs of decay has l>ccn prevailed or arrested. 1 cun only state
dint sometliiug 1ms happened here which does not occur in more
than one dead body out of a thousand. We have not sufficient
data to solve die problem, 1 *

Nov, the point of special interest which seem* to tne lo emerge
from a study of the presence or absence of decomposition in the
bodies of mystics of recognized hdiJitss lies in ihr cxtranrditmry
proportir-rj of trusrs in which we cluerve some notable departure
from the laws which usually govern the disintegration of the
human cadavrr. Anyone at ah convcfxant with liagioijrapliical
literature will be awam that wherever mystics have died in repute
of exceptional sanctity— I am speaking more particularly of
lie countries—the intense *und often quite extravagant
devotion cfihr people lias exercised great pressure in inducing the
rapo risible au thorium to keep these hniy txxlics above ground

1 A, C Taylor «mI I J. Smith, AUfcaf Jarhp'uMna (Edition Uaiil. Val I
P *- « Ml, p. ag Si -

P. Lnomu, in Witduim imd Becke*. AriAm/ J* -hptuMnti, Vyl 1, p. ^6,

746 THE physical PHENOMENA OP MYSTIC BM

much beyond the period commonly aligned for inhumation.
Nevertheless, out of hundreds of such cases of exceptional delay,
I cannot recall more than two or three instances in which a hasty
interment has had to be resorted to in consequence of the signs of
decomposition making themselves perceptible. 1 No doubt un¬
toward incidents of this kind are apt to be ignored or glossed over
in the panegyric which so often docs duty for a spiritual biography,
but in innumerable cases the exact contrary b explicitly affirmed.
The only satisfactory way of testing die matter would be to make
some kind of a census of all the devout servants of God who have
been canonized or beatified during the last few centuries, taking
careful note of what evidence is available regarding the condition
of dieir mortal remains when exhumed after death. Unfortunately,
this would be a long and rather difficult piece of research, for the
beatifications and canonizations of modem times arc more numerous
than would lie readily believed. Failing an investigation of this
magnitude, I have attempted something of the same kind on a
smaller scale. It will probably be known to most of my readers
that of the saints who are formally raised to die altars of the Church
by a solemn process of inquiry and a Bull of canonization, only a
few are inserted in the Roman Calendar and have feasts which are
kept by the Universal Church. For example, St Lewb Bertrand,
the gTrat Dominican missionary, is specialty honoured in Spain
and by his own Order, hut his festival is not kept by the Church at
targe. ’Hie same is true of such heroes of zeal and charity as St.
Peter Clavrr, S.J., the Apostle of the Negroes, or of St. Leonard of
Pott Maurice, O.S.F., the great preacher, nr of such paragons of
fervour as St. Veronica Giuliani, and St. Catherine de’ Ricci, with
innumerable others. Confining ourselves to die saints who have
lived within the last five centuries (ij., since die year 1400), we
find that forty-two of these are included in the Roman Calendar
and are honoured in Mass and Office by all priests who follow the
Roman rite. To these forty-two 1 have confined my litde census,
and this limitation has the conspicuous advantage that we may be
quite sure that the mere fact of the body remaining incorrupt lias
in none of these cases led to the inclusion of the saint in the Calendar
followed by the Church at large. Each one of these forty-two has
been chosen as remarkable in some odicr way, cither as the founder
of a religious Order or as a typical missionary or as a pattern of
charity or innocence, etc. Anyway, here is the list:

* One such our is that of Socur Marir du Divin Corur, tJt Druatr su V’nchrnnff.
See her Lift by Ch&d-, p. 404- Another t» that of Frmnrii Lima.

LYCORRUFTION

247

SALNTS IN THE ROMAN CALENDAR

WHO LIVED BETWEEN I4OO AND I9OO. 1

Jan. 29.

March 8.
A

March 9.
A

March 28.
B

April 2.
A

April 5.
C

April 24.
C

April 28.
C

May 5.
C

S. Francis or Sale* (1622). Embalmed, body found
entire in 1632; only fragrant dust in 1656. Hamon,
Vu, n, pp. 481-2, Heart preserved apart; “oil”
diitils from iL Bougaud, Vie de S. Chantal, II, p. 566.
S. John or God (1550). In 1570 body, except for
the tip of the nose, entire, and also fragrant. AA.SS.
March, VoL I, pp, 831 and 853.

S. Frances of Roue (1440). Body exhumed 4}
months after death; fresh and very fragrant. AA.SS.
March, Vol. II, pp. tot and 209.

S. John Gapistkan (145b). Evidence of exhumation
not satisfactory. AA.SS. Oct., Vol. X, pp. 432-6 and
915; but said to have been reliably identified with a
still incorrupt body in 1765. See Uon, Lnet O.S.F.,
III* p. 4*9.

S. Francis op Paula (i5°7)» Supple and fragrant
a week after death; body still entire in 1562 when
burnt by tlu: Hugcnots. Dabcrt, Vie, pp. 443 and 463.
S. Vincent Ferrer (1419). Fragrant and supple
after death, but in 1456 only bones and dust. Fages,
l r te, II, p. 274; JVota, p. 416.

S. Fipelis a Sicmarikca (1661). No evidence of
incoeruption at exhumation eighteen months after
death. F. della Scala, Der H. Fidtlis, p. 179.

S. Paul or the Cross (1775). Only skeleton left
when first exhumed in 1852. but fragrant and flexible
twenty-four hours after death. Devine, Lift, pp.
377 * 8 -

S. Pits V (1572). Viscera removed, but body re¬
mained supple, high-coloured and like that of a living
man for four days. At translation in 1588 nothing
left but skeleton. A. 4 .&S. May, Vol. I, pp. 695-7.

I have much caw Riven a reference to an authority where fuller detail* may
be found. The reference dd.SS. Hand* fur tjie Bollandial AiUt Santtcrun. For
convenience take I hare cited the mudrrn rrjtrmi The datr mven after each
name it the year of death.

THE FimiOftL PHENOMENA OF MYSTICISM

348

May 10.
A

May 15,
C

Mav j 7,

Muv 20.
A

May 26,
A

May 25.
A

Mav 31.
A

June 4.
B

June 1 2.
G

June 2 in
C

S, Antoninus or Florence (1459). Uflburied Tor
eight days, it remained flexible and fragrant; round
in 1589 still incorrupt. AA*SS. May, YoJ* 1, pp. 328
and 360, Cf. T. Buonsegni, Desm£tiow t tie., f 1 ll 1 j~
Hlhftd at the time of the iranikiiion, p. 17.

S. John IIaPi df la Salle (1719}, No phenomena.
Translation in 1734; only skeleton found. Vie (1S76),
II, p. 321.

S r Paschal Baylon (1592), Covered with quick¬
lime, but found entire and incorrupt nine months
Later In 1611 surgeons declared preservation mLni-
culoLis: fragrant* Stanilorth* Life, pp. 183-9.

S. BeHNaRUINE or Siena (1444). Kept above ground
twenty-six days after death,; fragrant; copious dis¬
charge of blood from nostrils after twenty-four days.
Incorrupt in 1472, Amailio, Li/e, pp ( 2117*0, 325.
Still incorrupt in seventeenth century. AA.SS. May.
Vol. V. p. 14S.

S. PftnJT Njeeu (1595), Viscera removed but body
apparently tun embalmed. Found perfectly free from
ciirnipiion eight months after death. Still found and
entire in 1599* I So®, <md 1639* Bacti, Lift, II, pp.
1 24*51 * 3 * CapceeUtro, Life, U, pp. 465-6 and 487,
S. Mary Mao. de Pazzi (1607). Body **b ur n e d
t&sfl on account of damp. Found entire and supple.
Fragrant oily liquid exudes from ft, but face darken¬
ing* Officially errttlied incorrupt in 1639 and 1663;
Utah still supple. AA.SS, May, Vol. VI, p. 31&

S. Angela Mfrtcj 1340). fragrant and flexible for
thirty flays; intact, incorrupt and sweet smelting in
1673. Still entire in 1867, 1 & O'Reilly, lJfe r pp,
247 and 253.

S. Fr AS£ii CARacckuo (1608). Flexible and frag¬
rant, blood flowed when incision made. Embalmed,
partly preserved in tSall. Genceill, Compendia, p, 203,
S. Jons a S. Tagunuo (1479). No evidetJCr of in-
corruption hut extraordinary' fragrance ai translation
in 1533. Vulauri, Vita, p. 143.

S. Vloystus Gonzaoa (1591), Nothing left but
skeleton in 1598: no phenomena, Ceparl-Goldic,
Lift, p. 244.

* bit k* Panel I* f*. iM, who «y* thatnontcoT the (hub**rt Uustt

IKCORP-TJPTtOJf

H 9

July 5. 5 . Antuoky M. Zhdcmua {1539] . Body remained
A entire, though kepi above ground unlit *566; them
buried in damp earth, only skeleton tn (664. Teppa,
Fita* p* 177,

J uly iB t S. Cawilu* ire Lellb (1614). Batty soft and flexible

A until interment At official recognition in ffoj stiff
^unj frnli and stipple Hke a living body. A copious
exudation of fragrant liquid. Gecatdli, fjft, I, p. 2 11.

July tg. S. Vimcott of Paul (1660). When exhumed in 1712
A body incorrupt and entire, though eyes and nose had
suffered. *737 Bcsh reduced to fragrant dun.
Maynard, fw, IV, pp. 370-1.

July so* S. Je»0mk .Esuuaki (1537). Alleged fragrance in
€ 1566* hut no other phenomena. AAJSS. Feb., VoL

11, p. atflL

July 31, S- Ignatius Loyola (155!!). Viscera removed and
C body roughly embalmed, rramlarion 1508; uo phe¬
nomena. Bfcrtoli-Mtchel, 17/, IT, p, 310. AA.SS
July, VoL VII, p, Gro,

Aug 3 . S. AtruoNgus Lkjuori (17117), Apparently no phe-
C hamena except H ruddy countenance before burial
Exhumed c. i&ij Berthc-CastSc, Lift, II, pp 615,
683.

Aug. 7. s. CaJetan (1547), Body seemingly thrown into a
C common pit with others. Xo phenomena known,
AA.SS* Aug.. VoL U f p. 334; Moulded c la Glavj£gc,
p. 154

Aug. ai. S, Jake Erakcxj de Chant al (* 04 1). Embalmed;

B body found entire in 171a. Heart preserved srpar*
Mely;^itiaiige phenomena, Bougaud, Vit t pp. 53H,

Aug, 27. S, Joseph C*UtVManm (164SJ. Viscera removed
11 after death* Heart and tongue still remain fresh and
supple as in life, Losada, P&£r t p, 31^,

Aug. 30. S Rose of Lima {1617). Body found entire, fresh-
A coloured and fragrant, eighteen months after death.
Still fragrant but wasted and desiccated in ihjo.
Feulllci, Lift. pp. [5^7, A LSS\ Aug., VoL V t pp,

9 & 7 -g.

250

Sep:,

5 >

Sep:, zSh
C

Sept, it*.

Oci. to.

Oct. *5,
A

Oct. *3.
A

Oct, lo.
B

Nov. 4-

Nov. io,

Nov. (3*
A

THE PITY5IGA1 PHENOMENA QT MY^TICJaM

S. Lawrence Justinian 114551, fib body remained
above ground and exposed to the air for sinywwn
days* There had been no embalming process, but it
con untied entire, fragrant and ruddy. AA.SS, Jan.,
Veil. L p, 5%

S. Joseph or Goperti^o ( l G63). Embalmed m
deference to suggestion of the Pope. No phenomena.
AA.SS. SepL t Vol. V, p. 1043; Lung, Lift, p. ufl.

S. TiiOSiAJ* op Villanova ''1555}* Quite incorrupt
in 1582; resolved into dust, but very fragrant, at later
tmmLiuou. AAlSS. Sept., Vol. V* pp T 950 and 976.

S. France Borgia (157a), No phenomena. Body
not disturbed, until 1617, Newly enshrined 1625.
Sltali, It#, pp. 541*2.

Sv iciefcxA (*582), Minute description of its in¬
corrupt stair Ji\d marveBouis fragrance by Ribera in
1588. confirmed by Giaciui Phenomena of lieai t.
Ribera, Lift , Bit. V. cha. 1 , ii, id; Mir. F Ida, II,
pp. 815*7,

S, Peter op Alcastaha 156a), Incorrupt and
fragrant in 1586, still intensely fragrant in i6t€, but
fl«ii con.uimed, AA.SS. Oct., Vol. VIII, pp. 651,
899, 7B3,

S. John Cantus C i-J-7’3J 1 " Sold to have Irccn found
incorrupi in 1539, evidence not satisfactory. Frag¬
rant dust in iix>3, AA.SS* Oct,, Vol. VIII, p. 1059,

S. CuarjjiA Borkcmio 1584] Body 1 embalmed) to
a large extent entire in 1606, despite dump and leaky
coiim. Doctors consider preservation supernaturaL
Ghissano, Li/* t II, ]>,. 555, Body in 1880 still in same
condition. Sylvuin, f'rV, III, pp, 387-^, 395+

S. Andrew Aveluho 4608). Body found incorrupt
-1 year after death* Curious phenomenon of blood
remaining liquid and uncongeated, Fcrnandc?.
Moreno, Ftaia, pp. 113*4.

S, Dioacus (1483). Tlie body, dug up four days
oiler Heath, remained above ground for six months
Stipplr and fragrimt. It was still entire in 1563.
RottignJ, Vit&t pp, 87*90,

IKilORRtJlTrQK

351

JW 14. S. JcAjU'hat <i&3). Martyred and thnjwn into the
A river on the Sunday, body (idled up beautiful and
fiesh-coIoured on the Friday* In 1637 remains tndl
almost completely incorrupt. Official verification in
1637, and again in 1674, Gilpin, 1 % II* pp. 105*
355 and 402.

Nov, 24. S. John of the Cross [15913, Body found incorrupt
A and fragrant nine months after death; bled when
fingers cut oil. time added; still incorrupt in 18^9,
Muftett y Gwnica, Vida, pp. 229-300. D. Lewis Ufk

p< m-

Dee 3, S, Francis Xavier (1552) Buried in the earth at
A Sanctati* lime heaped on top. In Feb. T553 body
disinterred and found quite fresh as if just dead,
Brought to Malacca, reburied, then in Dec, transferred
Wj Goa. Formal medical attestation {Nov. t8, 1556)
thuT it laid not been embalmed hm remained fresh,
supple, and with natural colour, Seme parts of the
body still nipple in [£>15, the greater portion desic¬
cated. Bruu t Pie, 11 , pp. 3JO, 385, 404.

As I have indicated by the capital letters A, B and G, which
stand against those rniriea, mir data may he divided into three
dn ™* In no leu than twenty-two ease out of the whole total
of forty-two there kt good evidence ihnt the body of the saint was
found incorrupt after an interval of time which b normal fotiivi-
duiiis almost bvariably secs the development cither of an advanced
siage of decomposition or of complete decay. Again, there are
seven more cases marked B, In whjeb we have indications of the
occurrence of unusual phenomena of a nmKwhhi similar character.
Finally, even in die C class, where little or nothing out of the
common is recoidcd, thr negative testimony we jiosscst fr not always
Conclusive, In the instance of Si, John M S. ibafotfo, fifty-four
years, in that of St. Paul of the Groat, seventy *seven yeats, and in
^ai of Si, Francis Borgia, forty-five years, seem to have elapsed
before any examination was made of their remains. But a body
may pass through many trWnrtimtwtK in half * cemurv. and it is
at least conceivable that Uic fle^h of the* or other sain:,, after
remaining entire and unblemished for u decade or two, may have
quietly crumbled into dust before ever they were dmnrerTeii We
know at any rate dial something of this sort rousl have happened
in the cose of St, Thomas of Vilknov** Si. Peter of Atom tarn, and

253 TICE FimiCAL FllEKQU£tfA OF HY 3 T 1 COM

others, which remained intact for a certain period and were after*
wards reduced to skeletons. In more modem rimes an interesting
eatamplr is fmruihed by the translations of Blessed Julie BilUart,
the foundress of the Stmiri de Notre Dame (dc Namur). She had
died on April 8, ifrid, In (he July of that year. Sceur Anasutsie.
ftitperiorew at Namur, with two other Sisters, obtained access Co
the remains and saw that the liody quite perfect, in July,
1817, the body, by way of precaution to the political disturbance*
of the limes, wu* v:cretl\ removed to an underground hiding-place,
and was thru again found incorrupt, vivc that the finger-tip?. ,tcre
somewhat shrivelled, Wr .in- furdici told dial from the remain*
exuded a quantity of dear oil which stained the dothi in which
they were wrapped,” But by 1842, ^ Owing to an inundation,"
the flesh had crumbled to dust and only the skeleton remained, 1
To return, however, to our lisf, it will be seen that in this adee-
lion of prominent taints, extending from 1419 to 1787, drawn from
mamy dilhrctu countries and interred undrr the most diver!iified
condition!, mure ihrm half cnjnyrd for some years, and often for
vastly longer period-,, the privilege of inearniption. Of course, if
thttc hnly people had been -:a northed or added to the Roman
Calendar became their bodir* had been exempt from decay, there
would f*e nothing very wonderful in the high proportion of examples
exhibiting this phenomenon, bat tins, it U ncce&mry <0 repeal, is
emphatically not the ci'ic. Although the supernatural preservation
of the body of a saint b, under very exceptional circumstances,
sometimes admitted to rank 3^ on-' of die miracles which have u,
be i^tablished by evidence before a decree of: beatification can be
pmmuuirarrj, 1 dr- not think that this form of miracle has l>cen had
m lutse to in tin- rase of any rmr of the names included in our Ik,
On 1 he other hand, even if it were admitted that all the pheno¬
mena that we witness in ihe preservation of the bodies of holy
mystics are at dies found to occur spontaneously and naturally
Without any presumption of the intervention of miracle—and 1 may
confess that T for one should find it very hard to accept this view-
still, the high proportion of such cases among.- 1 those who have led
lives of her Vic virtue cannot po dhly he explained as the result of
mere coincidence. No doubt we all have heard or read many
storiG concerning the discovery of human remains in an incorrupt
state when (nffirn in vaults have accidentally been broken open or
nr^v graves have been dug. But ihc proportion of such instances
u the tfcoutamb of skeleton: whkh under certain systems of burial
1 Lifr c / liUutJ JiJuBmiart Ed, bj Vt. Jamn CW [1909), pp.

ItfCAUlUFTlCHf

*53

arc constantly bdug cleared away from cemeteries io make room
for oilier occupants, it extriinrdiiiiujly i mall . In tile dry of
Mexico and in some park, of the south of Europe, where the mil
U un uiled in interment, a corpse after death h simply thrust into
a horizontal cell iri a valid mass of masonry and the end of the tell
scaled up. Apart from Lbme who pay for special privileges, the
cell after a term ol years it emptied of it* contents and receive*
another tenant - In this way hundreds of receptacle* arc examined
and cleared every year, Nevertheless, even so* the discovery of a
fairly perfect lx*ly in a mttmmifhd condition is a rare event, and
those t|i4t arc occAiionnlly mri with arc generally hideous objects
with diHioriecJ feature* owing t . die unequal Contraction of the
tiisues. In the Museum of the City of Mexico one nr two favour-
able specimen* of desiccated human corpse*, brought to light in
this way used to be exhibited in gla«* rases—evidently such object*
were deemed not ton common-raud Sir H. Rider Haggard was
hoaxed into the belief, which he subsequently published tfj the
world in his novel Mi.n\k*iOn&'£ Daughter y that these gmesame relk*
were the bodies of walled-up nuns 1

Tile classical word Lawn, winch means t>ot!i a wraith and a
mask, might seem, not inaptly, in describe a somewhat rare form
of mcorruption which, though historically wdl-atte.ued, hardly
seems to iicjimg to the phenomena of myrtickrm SeiII, an illuitm-
tinii which luis very kindly been sent to me is too intere^Sii g arid!
curious to be passed over in silence.

My informant was Major Ernest Anne, of BurghwallA Hall,
Doncaster, hui formerly <jf Northumberland. When he was a
young man, he once visited a friend who was a medical student
in Newcastle, and was taken by him to sre the dnsectiiig*roomw
where various gruesome fragments, of humanit;, were very much
in evidence. On hh return home, he chanced to give an account
of his sensations, visual and olfactory, before mixed company
and in the hearing nf erne Thomas Turner, an outdoor servant on
the family ramie at Healeyskle; Bud when someone present raised
.1 question u$ to the time which elapsed before a body committed
to die earth was rendered unrecognizable hy decay, old Furrier
chipped in with flu riqxrtcncr of hi* early youth He told diem
that a* a boy he had lived ai Hayclon Bridge, and that there K
with other Lids* had, got same schooling from an old fellow who

■ St- TVMwA, April. (KjH.pp 574 *«p; Jan. [ 3 «t,pp. 14 vq.; anti Ajinl.
I t 9 <1 4^ P p ieq. I will usily pomi <vur that the sutetiuxtJj ih«e ihjwIf m in an
Hie apuuuum given by dimngmxhed official! of ihc Mtauc-jn Ac idem’,

rnt PHVst^i phkmgkeka or mystic

combined liic funcikim of parish clerk, sexton and schoolmaster.
To quote Verbatim from Turner's story go reported by Major
Anne:

It Was the sexton ’a custom when hr had tn dig it grave to lake
half a dozen of ills bigger scholar*, to help 1dm. In ahort, ur
did ihr digging, while he sat down, smoked Ills p[pc r ami generalk
directed operations, On tint occasion the site fur the new grave
had been feed u]kjii in a Tt-mote parr of the old churchyard where
there was no vestige of any previous burial. Our schoolmaster
showed u* where to bt.^in Jigging and removed a few of die top
ioth himself, jmt to let us going, and then we bays fell to with a
will Wdl ! we had got clown to maybe three leer, or 1 hereabouts,
when pre^endy cue of our pick* struck wood, and we Found that
we were on top of an old coffin. Either fhan curiosity, or to see if
it were net better tO begin digging another grave in a different
place, our schoolmaster jumped up, and ordering il* out cd the
hole which we had already dug t look un die work of rvt aval ion
himself He removed the soil carefully From what was apparently
the ltd of a very* very old coffin* and when he had got this clear he
ct about prising tin ltd utT with his pickaxe. There was hide
need of tins, though* For after a 3 leave or two the whole lid broke
up ini* pieces. 1 3 i'-- t the schoolmaster carefully removed and we
thru hw that there was a sbcct of fine Linen covering the remains,
which lay in what was left of the old coffin. This he pulled away*
and 1 shall never forget what we ah looked upon then, since, apart
from what I am idling you, it wan the first time I had evrr seen a
cciipw. Inside the coffin at our feel lay the body of a young
“ loss. of about my own age — and, would you believe it, Sir, she
looked as if she had just fallen asleep. Her eyes were closed* and
both hrr fare, which was very beautiful even m death, and her
hands, which were crossed over her breast, were as if thev were
moulded of pure wax, Her hair was silky and golden, and fished
in the morning sunlight. Our schoolmaster was dumbfounded
and told us that in all his long years of work in the graveyard lie
hod never come across such an experience before. After consider¬
ing a bit he repined the doth over the dead girl ..rid laid some
sacking over that. He bade m go home to our dinners* and on
no account to go near the grave until he relumed with the Rector
whom he then set off to fete Is. The Parson happened, however
on that day to be aw as from home and did not return until bie
in die afternoon, Meat!while, we had turned upon and finuhed

INCORHl.TTtOJi

255

another grave in a different part of the churchyard. We none of
us went near that we had begun upon in the morning. I think
we were too awed after what we had seen—at least I know that I
was. When the Rector and his wife at last arrived, we then
accompanied them in a body to the graveside. The sexton re¬
moved the sacking; but of the beautiful girl whom we had gazed
upon only a few hours before, there now only remained a skeleton.
The face, the hands, the hair, ave, the very linen itself, everything,
everything, had disappeared, and left no more than a disordered
heap of what one calls dust.

Major Anne’s friends knew* him to possess an exceptionally
retentive memory, and there can be no reavui to doubt the sub¬
stantial accuracy of the story thus told. Though more dramatic
in its setting titan some other similar narratives, there are a good
many parallels which hast: been recorded elsewhere. We may
mention, for example, a case referred to by J. C. Schotes in his
History of Bolton (p. 157), where a body, exhumed apparently
entire, fell to dust almost immediately on exposure to the air.
Some famous examples, alleged to belong to classical times, may
be found recorded by the antiquaries of the Renaissance. One
of them was identified, no doubt erroneously, with the body of
Cicero’s daughter Tulliola. It b to be noted, however, that in
the case of many of the saints mentioned in the list that is given
above, the bodies, even after protracted exposure, are stated
to have remained for several years, not mummified, but still soft
and flexible. The manner of preservation was, therefore, in some
way different from that of the example just described.

In the case of ordinary' interments in graveyards, the discovery
of bodies in a good state of preservation is even more uncommon.
Naturally it happens as a general rule that the bodies are never
examined or disturbed, but now and then occasions arise when
exhumations take place on a considerable scale. A very instruc¬
tive example of this occurred in Paris in the year 1840. During
the revolution of the last days of July 1830, barricades had been
thrown up ail over the city. There had been a good deal of
fighting and many killed, some of them, women, children and non-
combatants. The weather was hot and the barricades in many
cases rendered the conveyance of bodies to any distance an im¬
possibility. It therefore became necessary to bury the corpses
hastily in any available spot near at hand, and this was generally
earned out by the private enterprise of individual citizens. Ten

2y/>

THE PHYSICAL PHESOVLENA 0 \ MVtTf rft 'M

years later some sort of panic occurred over [he insanitary condi¬
tions resulting from these interments, The munic ipality inter¬
vened, and it was decided to exhume and to rt-bury ekewhere all
the bodir-; which had been disposed of in lEm irregular way.
After die operation had been successfully carried out, a rqxiH was
duly published by the medical officers wilts had directed the pro-
cceflingi. In all 574 bodies were disinterred- They had been
committed lo the earth in (5 distinct localities, all over the city,
ttnd uiliSct the jtujjI widely different conditions. Rather more
than a huiulfcr! had Imru I nine ! m Collins, a considerable number
tud been rolled up in inpiffint (rough cover! n. i of canvas), but
tiLC Lrrcii! majority iuul been buried -ts they had fallen, without any
wrapping or protection. On die o ther hand, in many of the pit*
or trfiuhiSj where the corpses had been laid in roves, considerable
(plantitits nf lime had bceii heaped on top of diem. Further, the
soil to which they were committed differed widely In chamcier.
In stone tAm it was sandy, in 01 hers clayey, and In others again,
M-ifrlu dc-; Innocents, :: semis ip have been super-
saturated with tile products of the decomposition of other corpses
which had been buried there for cctltora bach. It is impossible
to go iutu details, but a lukrablv full account may be found in
Hut article published in 1%$ by M. ] j, Gaujtkr dc Chaufary, one
Of the medical officer! in thaiip: of the exhumation, 1 The im-
portam (act which stands out is that of these 574 corpses, dii iiw
lentil ten yean sifter burial, not one was fouti I in a stale which
couhl in any jcimc he called ineonupL In the great majority of
^ses nothing remained bur bones completely detached from each
cl her. In a certain group of seven* buried in the lowest stratum
of all, under a number of others, ibr tea litres might still be
recognized, hut ihLi was obv itjusly due to the fact of the formation
of Considerable quau titin of adipocerc, a proem probably helped
by the decompotitian of the tiodic* tying about them. 1 gather,
however, that even these weie rather unpleasant objects, and that
puirefactfon, dioiigh retarded on account <,f ihc saponiticaiiim of
the iLwncs, was unmisjalmbly going on. They could hardly have
= ern mistaken fur incorrupt bodies. A fuller description, howev er
tif the appearances presented by human remains converted imo
ad||x>«fT under ronditinns specially favouring its development is
1 mnkhed b;. \L Tlwjrrt in lu> Raffr/st on rhe cxhuraatiotL* carried

1 " R'rl.ttjrm dn iu;uAtkmi fjurrj a:itri j t1 | *!#i MiJtlj id CTl *- . ,

-Mfc> ; I" *.«>. J'/fa™- flaw, Toni' as to J T-T l «

brent Dwiuhfal, Tim* t 1183*),^, V 79 ^ ** **

™cottjtcmoN

fl 57

out on a vast scale at Parb in j 785, when the cemetery of
the Church of the Holy Innocents* now the March u drs, Innocents,
was at last cleared of the bodies there interred, the Mxutmilaiion
of many centuries* Owing to the dampness of the mil and fti
complete saturation with the products of decomptaiiicm, almcot
every corpse buried in certain positions had Ijccn concerted into
adipoccrc, The interior of the coffins and tile: linen cloths wiih
which the dead had been covered were perfectly preserved*

The bodies themselves* having lost nothing of their bulk, and
appearing to be wrapped in their shrouds* like so many Ijinac,
had, to all seeming, ^offered no decay , On tearing apart the
grav*-clothes which enveloped them the only change one noticed
consisted in this, Unit they hurl boon convert ed into a dabby mass
or substance \utt< masse it eh matibe mollatjt) the whiteness of which
Uood out die more clearly in contrast to the bkekneia of the mil
in w hich they lay* 1

M. Thouret gt*a on to tell ua dial M diese remarkable mummies
preserve all the lino of the Face with its fra lures and eiptaaion.

I he eyes are unimpaired, and also the plumpness of die cheeky
together with the lutir T cyelatho and eyebrows,” Some of the
most perfect had been ihcre for five yearc 01 more. How far the
remains could have been iiiLmLen lor bodies miraculously protected
from corruption,. it i* not easy to decide from his description,
but it seems certain that although the fasitrymrt of this particular
cemetery were quite familiar with ihis extraordinary iransfor-

II mi ion of die Hesh\ parts into what they called grm dt <adavrt,

J till it was nn this occasion that the exigence of such a condition
was scirntiBcally recognized for the fir t time, further* the name
ndipocere (from odtpt fin, and iytii wtt) wan then invented to
describe it, and its true nature as pm impure mnmoriiacal soap Was
at least suspected. In Taylorb St fdud Jpritptutknu -idipocere is
described as having an offensive odour, bin this does not Mirrn to
be invariably the rase. Many years ago a medical friend gave me
three or four pounds weight of dir mJbsuincc taken from dir trunk
of a human cadaver, ilicti under dissection, mad l kept it in my
room for some days in an ordinary brown-paper jiarctl without its
making itself unplenmndy perceptible. It may therefore be that
in some of the rases which are described by our hagiogtaphicaJ

1 Thm.iiT', ttapfnjtt t,t )xt &Aimnf:--ir tfer CmhV« dr CE/U\ , dti ,^£j /wiv.-viis

(I'arbi* 1789), jKp. ltt-19; ami t£ pp. ifirfy

* 5 #

TH* MlYSBUU. PFEENObflL'fX OF MYSTICilU

writers m instances of immuni ty from decomposition w-e have really
to do witli (he phenomenon of japnikution which their im¬
perfect scientific knowledge dir] - ot enable them to rcioguiae. A
curious illustration of inch A possibility scorn to have occurred at
the exhumation of the body of the Blessed Made dc Sainte*
Euphrone Pelletier, the foundress of t|ic Good Shepherd Ntm
She died m April i 860 , and her body, which had been enclosed
in a leadrn coffin. was exhumed in June tgog, ihirty-fjve years
Afterwards. Dr. Herbert, one of the scientific experts present on
the occasion, deposes that “ the features could be recognized by
those who had seen the Venerable Mother before her demise.
The mouth was slightly open* the eyes shut, the eyelashes intact,
the dtin like that of a mummy," He further adds that, without
entirely unclothing the body, ** we were able to ascertain that the
chest, the abdomen, the thighs and the legs, were covered wiih a
skin like that of a mummy, under which waa % mas or ^rai di
fadtmr, resulting from the saponification of the tissues underneath."
[Tie second expert, Dr rtiibauU* remarks:

I may say that, in general, die skin, become mummy-tike, hard
to the touch, and resonant when struck by a metal instrument,
covers a substance spread over aU the body. This aubstance is
vulgarly called gnu Jf axdm^ t is covers the bones, In taking
a fragment of linen off the feet, 1 detached two too, which proves
th^t at least in that part uf the body die ban® are nol adherent.

I think that probably the same is true of the other members. A* 1
am called upon to indicate the general cause of the state In which
the remains were found, I declare that In coSms hermetically
closed the decompaction may he arrested, and thii seems to me to
have been the case in die present instance, h is to be feared that

the opening of the coffin may bring on a more complete putre-
r»rlinn *

Evidently the author of this statement did not believe dial there
was anything in life case which called fora supernatural explanation
None the less, we can hardly doubt that if the phenomenon had
been observed in the Middle Ago, nr even in the seventeenth
century, it would have been accounted miraculous, at any rate by

nrji .nrtdited to X
Utvevr*, to. givr i

otgdjuui'tios

*59

It?* weil-instructed eiuhiisiasts , 1 I do not dhpme that somc t
possibly {event, of the cosed recorded in our census may be sus*
ccptibk uf the same explanation, Rut (hr difficulty still ramins:
Why u it that such an enormous proportion of ibe bodies of those
who die in the <xk>ur of sanctity should lx- preserved from decoy ?
Very few of them were endowed in (cod coffins hermetically scaled.
Some uf them Imd quii kliiitr thrown cm them, but the quicklime
did not in a single case prevent die bodies of those who fell fill the
Revolution of July 183°* dom being converted into skdetoni.
Some also were buried in dump places, where adipoeere miv more
easily form. But saponification is* alter all, of very umrcual
occurrence* apart frcmi bodies drowned and long submerged, or
those thrown among heaps of others. Dr. OrnLi, who perhaps
paid more attention experimentally to this subject than any
sdrntht h-r done before or nince his time, givrv a minute deset ip*
tiofi of thirty-one bodies exhumed by him and expressly selected
on account of the varying cnttdi turns under which they wea-
intiemd. in every one of thev erases decOmpcdtion, in its various
stages, had been actively at work. 1 Lastly, 4* I hope to show
later, there arc quite a number of imtauc» of saintly penons whom:
incorrupt remains, when exhumed, present features entirely dif¬
ferent from those recorded hi eases uf saponification or in mummies
naturally desiccated-

The very large proportion of cases tn which the bodies of saintly
persons are preserved From decay may, I submit, [airly be urged
as an argument ul some weight .igainst die view which would
attribute this phenomenon entirely to ncuorjJ causes. If it be
contended that the abstemiousness with regard to food and drink
charge rcriatiq of all such ascetics may profoundly modify the

1 f ’brnild br distinctly lernjltni to reCrr to llaii rainr the CQDC&tSoil in which
llie body td Dona LuiU dc Gatvij«[ Ivu found wh™ tiif r tiffin opeiud Ly
the uum of the Inra million CodtcqI At Madrid tibe htul died hi London til
January 1^14 The Wdy waj rakm In Spats in Autfuit, 1615, hm the ihip w&*
wttiid i» dif voynfe. Tbt mnu "opmed the rmtin t ami iKi ugh the
heq W71 ter hoii tilled it ud pmlecd ojl hlglcnbb iirnch, tht ixidr stidf wn»
m ■ I'erfivi .r^lc >if ptncfl itiiin, ririiber diacohuff di titsr utwnod, I edible 4rt<i
Iree from the Imi dkft^Tjrcmcni-'' L*dy C. Fullmon, Lift cf /.am dr Csmgzl.
tl. B«T

1 S-^ Tmn - r M: Utmr fftFiil edition:, I. pp. •,■04 -6^8. N'n ont

uf Ihc c-jrptit?} tie diiinlrtted li.ul buried fur mare liuin iwa mti

3tGo THE FVVOtlAL P UEt* A HYfTIC&M

vondi tloiis ofnormal metabolism and tend la eliminate certain
of microbes which are rtiwi active in tilt- process of putrefaction,
we may reply tb it the very poor are of dire necessity abstemious,
while no observations point in their case to any di altar immunity.
Moreover, it ought to follow that when fimLnc reigns in the land
the corpses of its victims abode! be proof against the agents of
cor (Up linn, bill no recorded experience seems to bear (ids out*
father die contrary. I am inclined, therefore, in t hink tltat the
argument must stand until definite evidence can be brought winds
would pravnde an explanation of the anoimdy H

Moreover, a* ptevfcnuly suggested, there are cemm specific
ca^ which term to offer problems of peculiar diftkultv to those
who reject all intervention of the utprrrtniur.iL in this matter. Lei
me take, for ttahtple, the ; reservation of the body of Blessed Maria
Anna (Latkom) of Jesus. a tertiary of the Order of Our Lady of
Ransom, bom in 15% at M .drid, in which city she also died.
A.n. 1624, Some little time after her decease, Cardinal Treaty
Mmiop of Malaga and President of Castik, who bad known her
wdi duc ifiy life, drew up a deposition in writing hi view of the
impending process of her beatification, After bearing testimony
to her virtues, and spr-iking of the miraculous cures attributed to
her intercession, lilt Cardinal states tbit he was himself present at
die first exhumation of her remains ; whereat

I mw [he satyaj* and was greatly astonished to sec, a body iome
years dead, which had never been opened or tod any of the
viscera, removed of been embalmed iti any way, so completely
preserved that neither in the J dr,men nor in the Lee was there any
*“ L,f ^V* ««pi a spot on die lip, though thb was something
by which the had l™ marked in much the W mt way during lifet

In r 7J1. a hundred and Seven yean after the death of die
Servant of God, it much mate thorough and official iiu jetton of
die body look place at the instance of the ccdedasiittl authorities
interested in the cause of her beatification, Tlir remains were
found soft, supple, flexible and elastic to Liu* touch, and emitting
a remarkable perfume; while 11 fimm the whole body there exuded
a certain oily Add, like some kind of fragrant baJsatn, which
moistened both the interna! organs and the surfer* 0 [ |j, c 4 ;^
and vA-ith which the ebthing wm also saturated,” 1 As this invest!-

Cm ^ * n ‘ "*• * ««"*— * Cna

* Ibid., p. i^r.

IKCDUft tJTTiPM

26 l

gadon look place in Madrid, ihrre wai ho difficulty in hringing
together a number of medical experts. To quote again from ihr
Life which was published on the occasion of the beatification, mid
was based upon the sworn depositions of witnesses and other
official documents :

Not less than eleven professors of medicine and sundry t all of
them among the first and must famous in the city an d court of
Madrid, took part in the proceedings ami made deposition ai
witnesses Thry took out Their i instruments and mmc made long
at id drep uuminn* in the fleshy pans, others laid open the breast,
others serutmUicd the cavities thus exposed to view, others ex¬
plored any orifice by which it might have licen possible to intro¬
duce preservatives against put Erfurt ion. In fact, their united
ellorti rctulied in whai was not merely a rigorous elimination
hut an absolute diiscctiurt <jf ihli innocent body. If these pro*
ceedings were irregular, irreverent .nul unwarranted, they were
ycL so useful in cr.tul dishing the reality of the miracle that we
cannot find it in our heart to condemn them . 1

After completing their investigations the doctors declared that—

The interior organs, the viscera and the fleshy tissues were all
of them entire, sound, moist and resilient, 'flic fluid which was
observed to exude- from the body impregnated all the? interior and
all the Substance of the flesh. The deeper the incisions which
were made, the sweeter was the fragrance which wax emitted from
diem, '-o much so that otic of the surgeons would not for several
days after wards wash the hand with whidi Tic had manipulated
the viscera for fear of losing the supernatural perfume which it
had thus acquired. During the whole of this time the odour
remainefl quite perceptible both to himself and to all who came
near him.*

Upon this evidence the wonderful preservation of the body of
Maria Anna was accepted as a miracle by the Congregation of
Rites, despite the fact that liurty-five years later, long before the
decree of beatification was actually issued, a third inspection of
the remains revealed die Tact that by this the body was, mi
longer flexible or soft to the touch, The tissue* bad hardened and
wasted, though they were by ho means reduced to dust.

p 143.

1 /*&, y. 143.

THE PHVsmAt, hlBWUOA Of VIVSTTOdM

One tiling seems to be abundantly dear from rhe account Just
quoted—viz,, that if the body of Blessed Maria Anna wo* prese rv ed
from corruption, lfail was not due either 10 any process of natural
saponification or to ill having dried up into mommy. On the
one hand if ii incredible that experienced iurgepm, after cutting
into the flesh and thoroughly examining the viscera, should des¬
cribe the various tissues as intact and sound if they had really
found them converted Into a mm of adipneerc. On the other
hand* they insist with much emphasis not only upon the fact that
the body* a hundred yean after death, was clastic and perfectly
flexible, but that other corpses which had Ijcch buried m the same
vault had oil been subject to the common hw of dcc.v,. Over and
above this* there remains the phenomenon, by this lime vrrv
familiar to us, of the inexplicable fragrance given forth* and, lost
but nm least, the puzzling ctroimstancr or the exudation af an oily
liquid. Asto this Last feature something will have to be said brer on i

The next example I propose to lake ts cl a votnewlint different
character, the die of the Jesuit martyr* St, Andrew Bnbnla.
Father Bobok, born of a i ruble Polish family, at the time of hU tJcath
in 1657* was sixty-seven years of age* For nianv yeat* lie had
been combating by his preaching the propaganda of the Russian
schismatics among his Ruthcnian countrymen until he e. m f lir
ktxmm as the Apostle of Finsk. His success had drawn down
opoti himself die special haired of his rehtftous opponents* During
nne of an inroad of the Cocnckx in" 1637, Father Bobok icli
into thdr hand*. When he refused to conform to the Russian
schism he was most cradly tartuned, being scourged m*d outraged
ha way* that cannot here lie described. He was partially frayed
alive, one Hand was a l m ost completely hacked off, splinter* of
wood were driven in under lib nails, lib tongue was tom out by
the roots, arid his face k> disfigured with heavy hfrmw that it h.uiUv
retained the semblance of humanity. “ He bled,” said an eye.
■witness. " like an ox in the ijaMghter-houre. ” It was only aft er
hniir* of toTTTrrnt, when the huLchen had glutted their rage and
when no tigns of life remained hut a convulsive twitching of the
muscle*, that the victim w» finally despatched by a rrord blaw
in the throat. After throwing the body upon a dung-heap r| ]C
Ca yfa departed, leaving the Catholics free to gatbe, i, p ^
mutilated remains, which were eventually conveyed to l^insk and
bastilv interred in the vault beneath the Jesuit church in tbat tww*

Forty -four yean liter« the Rector of the JttUil Dilltr/r *f pj m k
was led by a vbioii or drown, which he deemed wipcrnuinral to

DwaRBurnoH ^3

nuikc search for the body of the martyred apostle. ]i was found
eventually, t& all appearance in exaedy die same stale m which ii
Jjad t»ecn i committed to the tomb. Apart from the mutilations or
the martyrdom tt waj entire and quite incorrupt; the joints were
flexible, the flesh in the lea injured parts was resilient to the touch,
while the blood with which it was still covered in many places
looked as ii It was frcsiily congealed. Other more or Iss formal
itispectbttJ Of the body took place during the next twenty years,
but 11 was not until 1730 that the final and official examination
was carried out under sanction of the Apoelolk See, Six ecvlcsi-
astics and five medical experts subjected die remain* to ,1 close and
prolonged scrutiny, and Lhtir deposition* are still preserved iu us.
They agreed m declaring that the body, except for the wounds
inflicted by the murderers, was entire, that the flesh was soft and
flexible, ;tnd that its preservation could not be attributed to anv
natural I caufe, .Although we arc not iok| that the both was cut
srtto, ■stiil its mutilated condition and the open wound in the throat
w--iifd nirely have betrayed the presence of adii>ocere # and this
strange cumiltiotl C O Utd hardly have Failed to elicit some coiuni'::.!
if any grai rnaw ')f fliat *ubounce had replaced the muscles and
internal Organs. Upon ibis evidence the case was debated at
length, both in 1739 m 1830, by successive Promoters of the
Faith and Posmlntors of the cause, 1 ami in 1835 this preservation
Df the body was formally accepted by die Congregation of Rite*
** t>Itc tbe miracles required for the beatification. 1 ought not
t-i omit to state that more than one of the witnesses deposed dial
the other bodies buried in the same vault With that of Blessed
Andrew Bobota were none of them preserved front corruption.

Among the many capes which might be quoted of quite cxetrp-
.lI immunity from the law of dust in dust, it is difficult to nuke
a selection, but I will choose for my third example a ease from a
convent in die Netherlands, chiefly because the mm so privileged
was an English woman ami .1 member of an English community,
Hie f endian Carmelites, now long domiciled at Lnriherne, in
Cornwall, were tor nearly two centuries bdbrc the French ftcvdu-
110,1 established at Antwerp, There, in the year 171.3., died thr
saintly Mother Priori Mary Xavcrk T by birth Catherine Burton,

1 have m dui tiuiaiicc hiul tbe opportunity t£ rediiQ the iRmmrnti and
j ■ammary erf the evUcoc* in ihc (meted froca* of tamfininn. J: rt[m <
t*r ron.E^x-ij tluu <r\tn En iltyrt the fljSitiiil advocatn for and iniml ia*m %o l>e
J P 5 ^'Minted tlsc oldervni |>h ttmt&am in the nuilirr of the «utrr/aciiw>
Thr disem 110ns aw never tin- lew Very Irngtav. The final
reply of the PostiiliiEj&r Of llfce Cati*e ixxupin fifty Eblio

afi4 Ttnt physical rvnnaKA ot hyitiosii

who, several year-* before lier death, announced, apparently
(hrdugu mine supernormal knowledge she posseted, ihm in the
iubtcrpajncan burial-place of die Rdigima there wus one incorrupt
body. This statement was accidentally verified 4 year or two
later, when ii became necessary to enlarge the crypt devoted to
this purpose. Eleven or twelve receptacles had to be opened,, and
the remains were found either quite reduced to skeletons oi in
process of rapid decays but one other, which was that of a nurt
who had died in great repute of sanctity* offered u very different
spectacle. The tomb w; l that of Mother Mary Margaret of the
.Angris 1 Margaret Wake), who hod boon buried in tbyfj, thirty-
right yean before- Although, as we arc tol-;l, the vault was
exceedingly damp and confined, this liody was entire,, in spite of
the foci that the habit in Which it was vmed wu* rotten and
saturated with moisture. The Bishop of Antwerp was informed nf
the occurrence, and came himself to examine into ihr facts, accom¬
panied by llmrcc me<lir:al ntn. fie insisted on viewing the other
remains and satisfied himself that all were decayed. Afterward*
lie had the incorrupt body removed iu a plate where it could be
more conveniently examined, and there, as the almost coinem-
porary account inform - us T —

He ordered the Surgeon to make an incision in the pit of the
JlomMch through which they discovered the diaphragm perfectly
sound. The prelate put his hand into the wound that vru made
and perceived a balsamic smell proceeding from thr body, which
Eiis fingers retained two or three days after, though he washed
them several times.

After an interval of ten dayj the same eminent dignitary ordered
a second and more formal investigation to be made by four
physicians and surgeons, of which we arc totd:

They examined it again narrowly, opened the diaphragm, by
which they found the he.wt, Ever, lungs, and aH the internal parti
perfectly entire* with -ill the muscles, etc. They again declared
that no eorrupifon Imd ever entered that body, and tha< It must
U. Riper natural, giving thU on mtemati n in writing* with thdr
own hands, that it was beyond die course of nature* leaving it tu
the divines tn determine whether it wa- to l*e termed miraculous.

The narrator. Father Thicmas Hunter, S.J., who was the con¬
fessor of the community, and undoubtedly himself an eyc-wimcs*
informs us further:

JNCOBftUPTlOTf

This holy body appears or a bromirih cnmplexiop, fc^t fall D f
flesh, which like a living: body yiddi to any impression made upon
\t, inri rsses ag.un or itsdf when it h prows], the joints flexible.

find a little moisture when you much the flesh,, but this is not
so senwhit as when the grave was first opened, and ilm very
frequently breathes out an odoriferous balsamic smell, which b not
Only perceptible to those about die body, bin lias sometimes filled
(he whole room. I mentioned before that El had been observed
that blood flowed out of the grave 1 after die body had been
Spouted m U. This happened about six weeks after her death,
and when her body was found incorrupt, they all took notice that

blood ^ ^ af ,Iie sinted all to be tinged with

Here .tgain we hftvr 3 case in which, assuming (what 1 think
we !LUr no rc5k ' sotl douhtj that titc account of the doctors 1
eaamtnatmn t-f ibe viscera b reliable, there can lie no suggestion

iai the remarkable Eniegmy of the remains was due to saponifi¬
cation* *

For a fourth illm ini lion it will |« sufficient to refer to a medical
report written in t868 by Dr, Pietro Dettori at flic time of the third
exhumation of the remains of Blessed Anna Mum Taigi, a married
woman whose beatification took place in tom* the account
“ to ° ton £ to quote enthe, but [ translate flic more rittnificanc
passages Anna Maria had died in Rome hi 1837, at the age of
si.’v:y-cighi, and she had consequently been buried for thirty-one
years. Dr, Dettori begins by remarking that the body was quite
f!, 1 f [ om thc appearance of the raqfcr ’ ,jnc would

nvr sa]d tii4t * iad rj kcn place only two or three days before.

The features arc slightly bronzed, but only by Lhc action of the
1 Jt dlc atr - Shr lc *k abniii seventy, the bead t< a Uttlr
bent bark, the face is rather full, and the hair, excellently pre-
served, i? white. In tiie general expression of the face may clearly
vc read the patience, resignation, gentleness, kindness, and eood-

with Which the Servant of God v.^ so singularly endowed
Ou nng her life.

,h^dtkr ™r' kim C ‘^ hrfr WcrP ™ ]W nkhft ,4 ru^mry.

PP-*7^5?^ by ThouiM Hunter, S j (Qusrteitjy Safe}, Appendix,

her 'f th hvl "' Ct : ^ ljvtJ ^ i» cr K^vr rrkirtfee ^f-iiidixur

111 ** p™* ^ bc^nitoLtiMt, He W« ihto over *,,**■ ™ ,2

Tfre PHYSICAL P1JRKOMK.NA OF MYSTICISM

Tiie Doctor then goes on to say that on * more detailed examina¬
tion he found the skin of she fact dry and hard, hm oor shrivelled
in nny way. Flic hands were blackened ami me skill o! them dry,
‘Hicre was a certain amount of flexibility about the shoulder and
.irm joints, but tftU freedom of movcmcni cottld in no way he
LUmpsued In dial of the arm of a Uvhu’ pctvm* Altogrtlier the
witness, so far, though impressed, was not prepared to draw any
decisive conclusions front what he had seen. On being invited,
however, to make an inspection of the lower limbs and trunk, lie
found more solid reason for expressing aj.tr mhhm rrif

I examined lint the feet and line legs and I found them intact
os was the ease with die rest of the body, but there were also other
phenomena which had not been apparent in the anus or the face.
On the inner side of each kg there was a pronounced exudation,
of a lymphatic humour, somewhat viscous, clear-coloured and with
a peculiar odour. This Liquid hud saturated the slocking* where
il hod come in contact with them. The legs yielded to Uic pressure
<>f the finger and the muscles still possessed a consistence which
was realiy wonderful in view of the fact that death had laltcti pLiec
more than thirty yean before. But what astonished me more than
all wsu the infection of tire abdomen. The skin in front was of
<* 'kep red edoiii and much distended. The muscles beneath it
retained an extraordinary dasliciij, in virtue of which, after
yielding to die pressure of the finger, they recovered their former
position immediately the pressure was removed, without any
digression being left, all of which proves that the tissues within arc
in no state of putrefaction but are hi liirii normal condition. The
skin of the posterior face of the abdomen it tabu its natural white-
nos. It a flabby and somewhat shrivelled, but it ii soft and
discharges a viscous humour which has no offensive

Kvni if these appearances were consistent with extensive saponi¬
fication of the trunk and viscera—a point upon which 1 tan ofter
no opinion—no explanation is forthcoming why this extremely rare
condition xhtmld develop in. just those cases where a reputation for
extraordinary sanctity hai been established cm quite other grounds.
Just is in the m*ram« previous!} referred to of Bcraatletie Sou-
birtms, the Cure d‘Are, and Mother Batai, 10 it U certain that
Anna Marla Taigi, a humble uneducated woman of the servant
class, wax almost universal I.i med as a saint long before her

1 See CafUicr dr ^lunluili, tEimm <'>c*pUUt, Vfll- [JC. pp yi-i,

miMHaumoN 267

body was esdmtned for the first lime in *855. Preparation* for
, cause offier lieatifieation had already been made brio nr that
date, and a Life of thr Servant of God had been published in 1840
by ftlgiy Lutpict, Bishop of H&ebtm, which had been widely
circulated in thatuandi of copies, not only in lu nch, hm also ici
haban. Ever. In her lifetime, poor, humble and untaught as sbe
Maria had been consulted ,ind venerated by some of
trie highest ecclesiastical dignitaries of Rome. 1

One would be templed in go on quoting still further illustrations
of the same phenomenon, for there sue literally scum of othor
eaao to which I have not yet made *ny ion 6 T nlhaiasi, hut k i*
plant that this catalogue cannot be Indefinitely' extended. One
wotitd also like to recall the derails of some undent example*, fe-
instance, of 1 lie wonderful preservation of St. Cutbbelt's bodv
which, though he diet! in the year 687, 30 exactly coincides In rvcA*
feature mil! the modern evidence which I have been reproducing.

I he Venerable Bede* who had conversed with many eye-witnesses,
rrroixb how, eleven years a ft eT Ouihbcrt’s death, 11 on npcniiw
the sepulchre they found the whole body w entire as if he \vene
yet living and more Mkc one m a sound sleep (for the joints of d>e
limbs were flexible) than one who *03 dead"]* while other
trustworthy chroniclers, four ccuiurici later, minutely describe the
rontumorice of the same conditions, despite all the accident! of
imvel and exposure to air to which the shrine had been subjected
during die intervening years. They speak of th< flty of the

pants, thr validity of the sinews (um-i). and die hayrartcr which
pervaded all: or, to quote in particular the woidi of Reginald of
Durham,* 1 nil hb limbs an; solid, flexible and whole, and as
fccomr a perfect man, folding with sinews, movable with veins
hill or blood, sweet in the softness of «oh, ruch as give the appear.
*ncc or one living in the flesh, rather than dead in the body."

1 here is, 00 doubt, some exaggeration in the phrasing, but the
words beyond question faithfully reproduce die general impression
which ihc onlookers carried away.

Rierc U, however, one feature which Itaa met or in several of
the rases draft with in these page* mi !nc(irruption and which
require* a word of notice. Space imformnatdy fail* me to discus

’"’V! irrr and fawpeclioe* of iU< : , EJjy

Ikdc, Ijitj .f, Cnthbirti k ;np.

' ^ >nr. Sumt CvMoi, []p, 7>J- tmd « 7 , wh«e UjmUtiaq ! quofe

268

THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF MYSTICISM

it with the thoroughness its importance seems to require, but it
cannot be passed over altogether in silence. The phenomenon 1
refer to is that of the exuding of an oily fluid, which is mentioned
for example in connection with the body of Maria Anna of Jesus,
of Anna Maria Taigi, and of many others already canonized.
Among die Creeks, hi the early Middle Ages, before the Schism
of the Eastern Church, the saints of whose remains tbiy wonder
was recorded, were known as /iVpoflMrrat (unguent spouters;.
One early and relatively famous Western example U that of St.
Walburga, an Englishwoman by birth, who joined her brother,
St. Winibald, when he was preaching die Gospel in Germany.
Shr became Abbess of Hcidenhcim, where she died in 779.
Although there is no record of her body having been preserved
cntire, still from her liones, translated to Eichstndt, an oily fluid
has trickled for more than a thousand yean, and the phenomenon
continues to this day. 1 An interesting modern example of the
same kind is furnished by the relics of St. Gerard Majclla, C.SS.R.,
who died in 1756. We read diat a century after this date:

The ecclesiastical authorities having ordered dial all the relies
of the sen ant of God should lx? officially examined, Gerard’s tomb
was opened for the first time on June a6th, 1856. It was then
noticed that a mysterious oil oozed forth in such abundance from
the brain and bona as to fill up more than one basin. ... On
Oct. t ith the Iwxly of the Saint was again examined in the presence
or two doctors. They found the bona more or less damp but as
this could be attributed to dir humidity of the soil, it attracted
but little attention. They were dried widi all due care and then
placed m a chat lined with white silk. Four hours later the chest
having been opened, it was discovered that a kind of white oil
shedding a sweet fragrance, was coming fordi anew from the holy
rehes, and rating Ukc drops of dew upon the silk lining. After a
short examination the physicians drew up an official report of this
occurrence, which in their opinion was beyond die laws of nature.*

p. jfi.

More commonly, however, this oily fluid does not distil from
the skeleton or relics, but from bodia which have been preserved
from decay ft was so, for example, in the case of St Mary
Magdalen de Pazzi and in that of St. Camillas de Lellis. Thus

‘ See Meyrick, Ufi •/ SL W**', p. 54; r. Schaucrtr, //. WJkmpk

• VAUiill-Phillip*, Lfi tfSmnl Gtrvi A/<yW/ 4 . rT> r 8j-6

IN CORRUPTION

the body^of St. Catmilus was exhumed in 1625, ten yean after his
death. Whereupon, as his biographer reports: 1

It was found quite fresh and perfect, like a living body, and a
surgeon who was there felt moved to make on incision into the
«dc, from which there came forth a great quantity of liquid with
a most fragrant smell. This did not cease to flow for six davs
during which the remains were exposed to the veneration of the
faithful.

A very well-attested English example of the same phenomenon
« that connected with the translation of the body of St. Hugh of
Lincoto. A contemporary account tells us that when the cover
of the marble tomb was removed—

The body of the holy prelate, although it had been deposited
there for well nigh eighty years, was found incorrupt and almost
unchanged. As soon as the Archbiihop bid his hand on the
glorious head of the Saint, it separated from the shoulder, leaving
the neck fresh am! red just as if death had been recent. . . . In
the tomb where the body liad rested there was found a great
quantity of purr oil. . . . On the following morning in the course
of the ceremony it happened that the Bishop of Lincoln took up
the head of St. Hugh and held it for a wliilc reverently before him.
As he did this an abundance of the same pure oil flowed from dir
jaw over the Bishop’s hands, and this notwithstanding that the
venerable head had been carefully wnshed a few hours before and
had been found quite dry in the morning. The oU only ceased to
flow when die Bishop had placed his precious burden upon the
silver dish upou which dm relic was to be borne in procession. 1

Of both St, William of York and St. John of Beverley a similar
prodigy is recorded, and only a hide time before the date of the
translation of St. Hugh it was stated that oil had begun to exude
from die tomb of the famous Robert Groneteste, also Bishop of
Lincoln, whom many people of thut age called •• Saint " Robert,
and to whom many miracles were ascribed.

Perhaps die most curious instance of this kind of phenomena,

1 CeaueUl. Ijfr, Eng. Trans. I., p. 316.

Series), pp 580-1. The leader
rofhn, m which the hodv had bui until the traiuUlkm. was found in 1Q87 iti
lower part deeply stained widi snnie liquid. (/&/, p. yfrt.) 7

Tits PHYUOAJ. KtUOUCU <3W

if WC cuuld only trust tbc evidence, is ihut uf the body if Mire
Marie Marguerite da Anga [Van VsUckeiiuscrfl. of whom Buys*
*“**» km written at length in U C&ht&ral li We .ire told that riie
pr&ycd th*t ihe might iueniily be burnt away as a satrilicc before
ih-r life■• f--l Siicoimcsu, -md that afte her death oil exuded from
iKT body for many vn: 3 , which was regularly burnt in the sane-
tu li f bmp of the convent, M On ibis poutfe'' say* Huysman*,
" I* abundant -uiihcrtlic evidence. More or less minute

inquiries were made and the report of medical cxprrti arc so
precise that we can follow from day in day the state of the corpse
until it had turned la nil and could l>e preserved in phials, from
which a spoonful was poured every morning into the lain p ." 4 The
£to 0'* is apparently not a pure legend, but tinfbrttfcurtdy 1

have not been able to obtain access to the rather scarce Ufr hi
vriiirh thi ; curious eirtumsumcc it n a resiled, Dut t however we
in . the phenomenon oj fail tn explain it, the exudation of

®® c uf visentu oily fluid front many incorrupt bodies seems to
iir ' Iwy inti dispute, acid also n faa which has never been
registered by medical science,

* Thf C*iUsfrqi t Enjp Trails., p, i«3

CHAFFER XI

THE ABSENCE OF CADAVERIC RIGIDITY

I HAD at onetime thought that ihefim casein which thr absence
r: 'f 7, Z or had been noted was that of St* Franck of Assisi,
fC j Llt * * lilvc 3 ‘ ncc Come Liponnn carUa example. In the Ufe
Gt Sl Kaynrrius of Pki written Dy a conttmpomn , and ^emindv
trustworthy it is recorded that « his limbi After death showed no
ny.i of any siiiFrning. They remained, on the contrary. moist and
Lcdcwrd With perspiration, and they were as flexible as those of
**>' Jm| « •«-" Jun n Voh iv* p. 37 o.h It would seett,

tliui something nut of the ftOTmwm must have been observed to
prompt such :i statement. This was in i r6o.

Ratl.n more tl.ru. luitl a , miiutv Li ter, wr have rim death f 12261
of St. Franck. Hi* brethren who gathers! round to venerate hh
iioly remains ga^ed with awe at the stigmata, and Brother Elias
who succeeded him lip head of the Order, ratified |hr sad tiding
10 .ill the Prwjnca “From die beginning of r^," he wrote,
rhere ha* not bwm heard *0 great a wonder, save only in the Son
of bocf, who 13 Christ our Cod. For a Jong while before his death,
our Father and Brother appeared crucified, bearing in his y v
1 - ^ Vc v ^ tmds which ate verily t!je stigmata of Gbrui.” He
“ni«j them mimitdy. and then goes m to recount Imw during
f 31 days ho hotly wa-- lient t he was unable to take Ids head. *md
his Itmbt “were rigid as are wont to be the limbs of a dead man*
Urn alter ha death, lus catinlenunce was most fjcautifuL, gleamim;

1 f vv hrighincw and making glad them dtat saw it"
-ui>! me hmb: winch before were rigid lud been made exceeding
^unpkN allowing them to lie turned hither and (hither according
ha pootiDn Ida: the limbs of a tender l*jy.” Thomas of Ccjano
officially deputed to write the first life of die saint, similarly states
wuhm three years of ha death; « Hri sinewy w ere not contracted
j? those of the dead air wont to hr. hh skin wai nnl hardened, his
linilw were not stiffened, hut turned this way and diat .1 ihq ^vrre
placed* 11 The scientists of iht last century acoflbd at the stigmata *
as a tairy talc, but the rtfditv of these wound* is now practically

272

nm rjTvmtAi phewosirsa of wvsticiSm

undisputed If wc tan mitt im r witnesses for this, which uat in
ihdr cyts the greater marvel, there seems ^ootj nea^m Cl. belled

them accurate in what they idl us concerning the flexibilitv of ihr
limbs.

Bui of course the real strength of the ciisc f as with stigmata, lie*
ui the multitude e*f Uter example*. I am sure 1 am not exaggtnit-
ing when I say that 1 could give referenda lo fifty of those in
repuir of sanctity in svhose dead b .dies the same complete absence
o: rigor mortis was observed. Moreover, in reading hngfograpliical
records I am constantly coming aerm- ftesl 1 examples. They
occur in every subsequent century And in our mvT1 titr^ The
question whether the limbs of a corpse are stiff or flexible does
not inquire the taiimony cT a medical expert. This h 1 iruttter
whtcli even a child can observe for himself. But it, mnnv t ores
there is the evidence of doctor*, who in the seventeenth and
eighteenth ecniurirs often dr, lixed the ttuirvd to he inexplicable
and therefore in theft eyre miraculous. A remarkable case of
early date ft that of BL Peter of Luxembourg, a youth of royal
blood who died (m 138 7 J at the age of rights, already created
a Cardinal* V\c happen to have in hft ca* the evidence taken
nn oath within three yean of Mi death for the prt*:™ 0 : bcaxdka-
tion. \\ lines* after witness declared dial the limbs could be moved
m any dirrcuon, that the body was cold, that he waa kepi abnve
ground for four day's m ihc beat of summer at Avignory that the
countenance remained beautiful like that of a vontl, &foepft, K and
that there wa* iso tign of corruption or rigidity*

Among modem Inataneey 1 may rail attention, in (he first place
ro the case oi Sister Maria della Pa done, a nun orSoutheru It.ilv
who died in 191s at the age of fony-di, and who has already been
mentioned more than one* in die course of this book. It was
about 7,40 in the morning of Saturday, July the ^th,\hm *L
breathed her ksi, Lind somewhai later in the day her remain, were
conveyed m a shallow, open coffin to the convent chapel where
they- were visited by crowds of devout persons anxious to show
thesr veneration for the deceased* Her biographer tells us;

.V ti.cbody of Siacr Mara dalk P aH i one had rtmaiacd
pcricalv flexible, (bough i: li id hern it, at of a Dvina W[M „

P‘"‘ w «*«*. *• «dl ■" WHnen, took her hand,, rai«d

them up and hfcsed them with aftftrtiou and veneration. hivalidi
who were mftering from some bodily infbmitY pressed the hand*
to their breast or their throat, or to the place where they fell pain

THE ,VBSE«r.F. ot CADAVERIC HMTltT V g-g

exclaiming: HH Bow beautiful she is \ She tooka like an aned
She u truly a vessel of elation/ 1 »

Il>r:3e can be no need to insist upon the Euet that it would be
impossible to move the hands of a normal corpse in this wav eight
Dr nine hours after death. Hearing that it had been determined
to leave ihe l^dy above ground for three days, die doctor came to
lodge: an indignant protest, but on examining the condition of
tilings for himself lie withdrew all opposition.

Notwithstanding the fact i'her biographer continues] that It was
the hoiloL season of the year fee., July 27, afi and 29) T that die
icene was m Swtlhern Italy, in a tiny church, and with a great
concourse of people, the body remained throughout perfectly
flexible, and although it was pulled alxmt hy the constant handling
o. thaic who stood Close in it, to dir astonishment of all. it remained
Without a truce of corruption and without giving off the least
unpleasant odour; cm the contrary it wav remarked that die lace
became more and mot c Lu aurifuj and the features more dear-cat
{ prelate} *

TJu: continued to the rnd t ami, indeed, it seems that the holy
run herself had predicted it.* it may fairly be counted a point
tn favour of die truthfulness or thk record that in this ease there
J3 no mention of any preternatural fragrance* Of the two pheno*
mena the odour of sanctity seems to he of more common occurrence
than the absence of rigor, perhaps because the former forces itself
upon the attention of nil present, wliBr the latter may easily pass
unperceived. If die whole story were merely the fabrication of
an unscrupulous panegyrist, there would be no reason why lie
dimad not also duim for his heroine the privilege of perfumed
cmanatiemi, which, as we sliall see, play so prominent a part in
many timilar descriptions of older date. But before turning to
any of these we may twitce one or two other examples of cadaveric
exibiljtv which apparently were unaccompanied by anv oer-
cepiiblc fragrance*

Mother Margaret Halhhan, Foundress of the English Dominican
Congregation of St. Catherine of Siena, died at Stone a few
minutes after midnight on the morning of Monday, May M , i860.

ftll-r U,:rH .'/.j i | |U 17 , jjj.

1 L. funlaca, tlffl MU Wri Jt ffi§ f
■ /i!/. p. 3 ^.

J :i i. vuued ,hai a *!,.,« Bub: Worr rtw jmv Sulrr Hnm i»d-

mi,, ewpr. rEr^x, Ea mom- Hpn devrs aurrwtipmii.' f I kid.,, 35 y,

2 74 ***** fatV-HCAt pruHtmEKA or mytthuh

Tlic bodv Mtwtm! to the chapter-mom early in the morning,
c - !!i ' ,Lti > hiogt-ipher .nit! successor in office, Mother

taincu Raphael ; Drone f> writes ofthU a» follow*;

During Monday and Tuesday. the body temilned in thr diamer-

7 m ' CWfy a ^ bcr factor, and the countenance Ion

aii appearance of fuffcruig or emaciation* and assumed a beamy
; v ; JjrU r ' 1thr : mamuA than diminished as the hour* went by.
ihc exprcstinn wm that -if extraordinary majertv and strrtiurtb
!>u t rauiy led with c hiMttke ec in ra and sera ni(y. ■ * g h

The body wai transferred lo tl* rhltrcb on the Tuesday cveaim?
was not removed until the dm* df Intment aft, r the SokaS

'T™ ™. 1 hun *^> , ‘ ™ c *f ihr vidnii, p Tr tr p to

hHjk upon the * of t} ]C holy nun and to tourti them with
thv]i picture and rosaries. " The features/' Mty* Mother Drasc

remained WKhauged w ihdr stogukr l*autv and thr- hmrU
wne ■ttU perfectly flexible/' 1 It may fairly lie burned dim 4 .? dm
writer here speaks^tmly of the hands, ihb was because the body
had nmv been Jmd to the coffin, albeit still uncovered, and anv

further cxprrnDcnii w nh thr other Itoil* would have

unbecoming mu.called for* No one who know, unvLhW of

the eluraoter or the wrum^ •! Mother Dnmc will ho dirtied to
hmk htjhtly of the testimony thus given m ku of which ^he had
ocen the eye-witness.

No, less cr.rocirnDoui and mil b, ffir biography of Mother
Mai m Oa tntde Salandn of VaknOuio. She died in 1748 „ ,hi-
»Re 01 :i.t>-eight. Fhe body, we are told, became quirr n ,rrDir
ihe.e was an cnrao.dtn.iry beauty in the lace and colour
cheeks thoit-jh her vuilrrin^ and exhaustion during the pfevfou*
S ix week, had In particular, it is stated drm

ns hoirni ailff dratli the Sutopriona^ without any effort, look the
hand 01 the dead mm a* she U on * bin. before she ^ fmaj,
placed m her coffin, and raising it aloft, gave a ton blessing with
it to the assembled mira wfco had venerated her as tiieir mother *
Again, wc read of Suiter Mime dr Samt-Pirire, a Ckimdire m, r

f Iou ?: * h " ? K5d ,n J*fr «#*&. that her limbs, though thev had
been mtl -nd immovable duimp her 111™, |>r,. am , t

" ,UpP ^ ***** Hexihlr .0 tkpe of a child, and die mine U aho Ojjj
1 Mf* "f Mjifttr dVjWrt tfalT.iibn [ lSfk f ) t "i -
1 ltiJ > P H3

* r.n Mt. v ■«.*. ,«fa™ s^i h™, w . 5; . 3

THE AU.SF.JJCE 0? CADAVEMlK: BLIQlDttY

«T another nuu w)» was prioress of the same convent, and who
wn 1 ' to her reward in xKt>3, s To the ease of this majijfeiEAijori,
tin like that of the stigmata, there seems to be no inequality between
thr ‘.rxvs. (>t Brother Crispin f> <in Viterbo. tor example, a Qipu-
dicn Jay-Brother, who died at Rome in i 750 of gangrenous necrosis,
:t u stated that ntvitijf to tlir nature of the disease it had been
decided to bury him at once, wiiliin .1 few born* after death. Bur,
*15 his biographer idlt us:

Hardly had the iorp*e been bid gut, wbfin, as all could see tor
themselves, an incredibly surprising change took place iti every
pari 01 1 be foody. The blotches the wounds, the unhealthy pallor
and pH other signs of the gangrene all disappeared at once; die
We5h .'- ,f thc ] ‘ 5|lbs became healthy, supple and white like that of
8 r bdd : the knees unbent to their fall extent, die hands and feet,
which were before contracted and knotted, straightened mu and
hfti.yiinc pliiibk like those of* man in lieottli. In (act, die body
vs as completely formed, and as all present perceived, it was
riili only changed in appearance, but also flexible and comely in

& $ TCt ^liicli excited general attention and astonishment. 1

it i-i also staled that when the body was exhumed, six days after
deinh, the v.srne flexibility and complete absence of corruption
tlL ' * r ^ observable, 21 'rut another case was that of die Irilitm
Carmelite, Angiulo Paoli (f 1730). Witnesses in the process of
fortification attested un oath that lor the two day x that the body
was kfi exposed to view after death, l here was no trace of cadaveric
rtgicHiy. The flesh remained soft, freshdodking and everywhere
elastic. 4 StiU mote satLdactory h the evidence in the ease of the

ly prim, Andre Hubert Foumet, ihr Founder of the religious
congregation of the Secure de St, AndrtI He died in the diocese
of Poitiers on May i$ t 1834, and I happen to have access, in thh
instance, to the printed Pitilr. .mfirr Inlrailutticrw Cm*£. In the
annexed, three of die nuns who gnve evidence deposed
i" die fact that when the body by exposed after death, they were
employed in taking the rsanV, and other pious objects given them
Lv vuit-.iri in artier to touch ihe body with them. They testified
to its perfect flexibility, and ded.it ed that there wax not the Irtm
iL S n romiptiim observable during the four days which elapsed

t iu ' u k ' TZ > r Sitm-lSrm CTotin, \rp, 299 and .77,

* I'i&l d-S ft, Oj -p i'ti* dst IVirtJfl (Rome, iftyj;, jj. 1 ^9.

1 Hid., p. 131.

1 IV 1 . t.jicclari, 1 tia dri /*, tifM'.V f'iL.fi Rijiur. t t&Gj, p. 109-

3 7 ® THE PimiCA] PUKSOtttLVA or Mwncjs.y

before intcmienL One of them m paid. uLir ^periftn '* When
tone hi ng the body with those objects I bent liie finger* , the wrist
and also the elbow of the Servant of Gnd, and in each case 1 found
that die joint was perfectly supple." 1

And this pn,-rhap^ may Ik- a so liable place to sa} a few worth
ii|X , in the physiological aspect of the question of cadaveric riffidirv,
liij* ,ix 1 can discover from various irtandaid i]andbo>b of
radical jurisprudence, fcngtkh, French, German, Spanish and
Italian, which J have been able to consult, not one tjf them seems to
recognize the posiiiliiy dial m any human corpse rtgoi r mortis may
titter act in at oil, GonittSurabli: variation has been observed in
the time after dead) at which it rruilcr. ib .ijipcaianee, and also in
the duration of thu eosukLicin of rigidity. Speaking prauitiably
witii reference to the conditions which usually obtain in Great
Britain, Proleswir Glahter states:

On the average, sdflkmng wifi probably have begun in the neck
and jaw and face about five or six hour* after death, will be
definitely present in the upper part of the btidy in ten houn, and
will be proem over ah the body between twelve to eighteen hour*;
and it will, m all likelihood, have passed off in die bulk of eases

by (he aid of thirty-six honn.*

The sanw higu authonty lioo on to jtay that ri^Af has berti
delayed as long as ™t¥n hours, [toil hue been present ai long u
Iwenty-mic rbtys, though these <>f course tepr^m very extreme
caves. FuribeT, hr states that in all exhausting riu,r^»-r^ ( ,f long r<r
diori dumikm, cudavmt rigidity shows itself early and passe^T?
quickly, sm.l in rhr fame conditions putrefaction abo comuiftu-n
eailv, Ii would appear at the ^.inr lime that ah estimate such
JJ thtKe just quoted arc somewhat tentative and uncertain A
German authority steta that die stiffening uaufty

bsi f three time-; twemvdhur hour,;* another yf mr.ro recent date,
without commuting himself in u precis estimate of the dural im-.
of the njser, declares that in the majority of case* it becomes com
pSrte within five or «x hours of death, and only disappears to civ.
place iu pttrrt&dhm.* A >huxkrd Italian authority, no doubt

,.‘5? fWo Skat ^^ * «= *«*. timmimi *um. a* g» ft 42,

*}' GJaatw, Hm-JImI tf Mt&rilJmiptidm* (Third Edition, i 9J *j « tJ «

1 Ibid,, fi. iyo * **! 1 ^

* C. Ernmrri . tsbjlutA !n gfritMvhrt Mtdidn -r

* K HriETUfk, -xri, .Jj'jfi Wn&Ci.i (1314), p,

THE OP iLUJ^VKKlC RIGID ITT 277

basing Iti* estimate upon the conditions prevailing in a more
southern climate, Viatel that rigor generally begins from two to
three Stout* after death, anti only disappears between thirty-six and
forty-eight hours lift*-? life Is extinct, 1 hut, as already noticed,
amitl ail the^e variations, one nowhere finds any suggestion that
cadaveric rigidity i* ever entirely absent- Indeed, the wmk winch
is generally considered the primary English authority on the sub¬
ject definitely pronounces that L " the physiological data previously
slated , . , have shown lhai ilm period of rigor mortis is absolutely
certain to arrive sooner or Later

In view' of (hb very positive declaration the numerous eases
occurring In our hagi^graphiral records in which no signs of
cadaveric rigidity xent to have been discernible, offer, to put it at
its lowest, an extremely curinuj problem It may* of course, ire
objected that the instamnrs at ready desrritK-d, in the others which
we still have to consider, air only example} in which rigar has set
in extremely late or has disappeared exceptionally early. Still, a
little cwnridcTatkin will tuflke to show that this suggestion dun
not provide a satisfactory solution or the difficulty. Apart from
some rather uncertain data derived horn suicides, who .itphyxiatcd
themselves with carbon dioxide (carbonic acid gas), where we
aic told that the bodies sometimes remained for two or three days
at the Paris Mm gut without rigor setting in, 1 the best English
authorities, such as Glaiucr. and Taylor and Smith, assign sixteen
hours, nr at most twcnty*Jpur hours, as die extreme limit of delay.
Now in nearly all the eases of flexibility considered here we have
explicit testimony that the limbs, and more particularly the hands
and ami', had not stiffened, though one, two or three days had
passed since the moment of death. It must he remembered that
the member* of a religious nsnummiiy are quite familiar with tlic
ordinary physical phenomena of denth. They do pot employ
extern nurses or servants to perform the hut offices for the mortal
remains of deceased members of the Order. Consequently, there
is no likelihood that a slight, or even a considerable, delay in the
normal dmr of the appearance of n got would be proclaimed as
anything aupctnaitiml. It Is perhaps more easily conceivable that
nuns or other religious might not Ijc aware that the rigidity of a
corpse is only temporary, and that it posses off after a certain

1 M-idm, CnmptntXKr <h ,A fa&ma frfiiir (Eighth Mil.. 1014;. p 74.

' Tay)n>t and Smith, MfJittil Jun.tfrwinKt Mtlim |<JiO}, VeJ- J. f jip. .7^ -3

* I borrow !hti from \ SwiiuL texi-book. Yllucz, Etavunto it J/rfthj fool y
TifiSkflJiiyt.i Maiind. *13 p. bur I have rwt found m^nttcin Tlf:rie ana dse^JiffC-

278

tut physical rant oumsa u- uvstjchm

inteivaJ, but 0* a riIc h cmiy passes off to give place to putrefac¬
tion, and in practically all the case* *Sih lyhich wc are dealing the
absence of any signs of approaching Corruption is insisted upon W
" « «1» EaiWUty rf the hmbZ M.^,1 £

B£S of case* our evidence shows that the hand, «,d MB! rf
tLc flccnocti were perfectly nippfe just .n chat i> bctwteu

!d* l 8 £.u? 3 *! h fy * aftw dcath - wl >m tJ'E normal dead b^Wis

?'“7' ‘a U b !‘ b/ nS ° r ' A <J«u- example of this ntxv

be found in the erne of St. Leonard of Port Maurice. He died „
Rome shortly before midnight on November ah, m,, a, ,j lt . „*
tcvemy-fbttr lQ oM „ * avoid the tumult
■•Hen occurred when th.»e wf„> died in repute of sanctity were
enpoted in the church the populace were never admitted to visit
the remtuuj, hut the body was laid in the tomb during the curly
hours o November eflth. Shortly before it was lowered into £
piace iif sepulture, and eometpictuly about twenty-four imitrs or
moie otter '• lUndjcs] examination took place at which were

{Taft'S! a nnciry - a

\ yi. to.’iujth A formal instrument was drawn up mlcd

^IMiu“ r> •' $■ lh '' lv WiU d,en if every „%

stdl living Ihis dot,,mem was produced will, olhtJThi tl,r

process of beatifies litia.i " m Ulc

T lbr wc Kttvc so It cemiideHcf invol,-. - - .

!"£Sx” ;.• l -~" ™"~S rS,™

feHSSwS.* SXfiKSeSSa s

th of St Lnws Bcnrajad tlir
J^umry which m pUce ut VuK £

With regard to the absence of rffw we have apparemlv two diuirirt
HttMtauons, uric concerning thr dinr uju ' dialI 7 rt

were removed to the sacristy after the indiscreet .CdL,”^? d,e
rHic burner* m the f iimilj had _n i zcvowm o! ttw

drserihiug ,he

finally con-igncil in die: tomb The hr-,] *

-i-Yt bctii tw>L Jhm than two, or tnufc thiin *jr _ _ l

JWrsftit ,«rarfiWTte£

feeling « if alive although witl'wur^imd?'"» V Th' i,,C ’ flc,h

or Ore remains before their final interment t* pi" a “

1 c. M. til U|fi£lash, I uj M a. rftt P-rtd u. r „

(fa l$l* --nrnwnjj Mvauiiw iKmiir,

* Wilbeiforo:, L&tfSi. Ltxu [hwvrt (i^;, +(J3

TitH AlLSJLNCi OF UAdAV** JC RTCjLtirTT

six hours after death Ql the ^eotind inspection we are told ihai

i:tr hod’. VtMj Ibuncl unchaji^cd, die flesh white ,u the

Utx shining with a peculiar and .\Ur,ictivc beamy, while the limbs
were peifcctiy Uvxibte." 1

Ai ahead y slated, the absence of nmr in the case of St. Lewis
Qcftraml wto rendered socially c cnmrkable from the number of
other phenomena, apparently well aucsted, whb which it wei
aaMxiatcd. For example, "at the moment in which his soul
deported, a b rillian t light flawed from hi 1 ! mouth, dluminittiug the
w hde edi with hi splendour,” this lasted 1 for about the length
of time that b needed to recite a Hail Mary,” Further, ■'a
perfiiriifT ol astounding sweetness . . . tame from hit dead body,"
au'.l " heavenly fin tab was heart! by many in ilie church where the
body was awaiting burial."* This f.ict seam to have been made
The subject of eyeful investigation, but Ufa also admit led that ibe
Eiarmony was nnt perceptible to all, and did seems also to Imve
been the case with the effulgence which many witnesses observed
with astonishment in the hands and other uncovered portion! of
(he body as it lay exposed in the church- 2

^ In the CMC of tile Jesuit, St. Peter Clavcr, " the Apostle of the
Negroes, who died at Cartagena, in South America, about a n.ns.
on September 8, t65.l1 have a similar combination of marvels.
The flexibility of the body was conclusively demonstrated by the
that while ii lay cxfn-i?ti in dir rhurrii, ten or twelve hours
after death, tlte position of the hanih and arm* was altered for the
greater convenience of Ihusc who ■ ame to venerate the remains.
Instead of the handi clasping a vbaUcc as had a Hirst been arranged,
the chalice was removed, (he amu wqt crowed and liir h
allowed to hang dbwn on either side in a pLthbii which allowed
1 he people ro kiss them, But they were not content with tint.
Those who were afflicted with various iitfirmiilcs, with sore eyes,
with aching heads, with ulcers m the amis or breast, lifted up the
hand t t f the dead man, and moved it 10 touch die part affected.*
lt mjv ihirly l ie counted as further proof of (he abnormal character,
u ' say die least, of this flexibility, that witnesses deposed lo the
maraJbiu fragraricc olwcrvitMe in the hands and feet and to the
copioLti rperspiration which bttlewcd thr whole ^erfhee of the body.

* /if id 1 ,, [>, jjocy

* A ikl, pp wli'rtl dtttiili !ur^ given.

* Father V Albefe te - ■ imww'ut* ihr ^imer given tav icvcr*] 0/ (he

Umeg tT^airlurf fhn liur drtiif

' 5 “ J "'■f 'H- 1 !- V.jh Ptjrm Cl! f ftjfrtJ.m.1, 1888;, pp. 43!* Wl4 447,

ado

TMt PHYSICAL PUEHOlIfcMA f>|» IIV3TICLLM

T it. aa.nc phenomenon is recorded of a number of olhtr perron.
Wtw similarly* m ihc odtmr of sanctity* for example, in ihr

case nj messed C^par tie Boao, of St. Benedict Joseph I*bic, ,md
° f Mr I isehAl BAvtbn, Blessed Caspar de Bono h whose rJ C ith
occnmrd at Valencia in Spain on >|y , 4j r 6o 4 . remained three
da%i unturned, venerated in die extreme heat of summer bv an
uncedmn stream »l drains. who 111 led the church and all its
approaches Duiiiil dJ ihU mm die body remarnwf fragrant,
supple and bed cued with a myiterinn* moultire. On the second
day, some diirty-six lmnr* afler death, we have record of iwo
miraculous cures worked by placing the hand „f tile- corpse upon
loe injured limbs of suppliants prrsent beside the bier 1
Snll belter attested {by a number of witntssM wW depositions
are very ii.Uy_ given .n.be process of beatification),* is therms of
bt ttonedic. fosepl, L . lh rr. He breathed Ids last to Rome on die

lh- p"1 °| J2° J 6, r ‘ 7Bj ' Uh=n ' vc retd of die perspiration
hiili bedewed Ihr Ijttnv LO often as it was wiped awav, of liir

tjerfect suppleness of the liml.1, of die warmth wide], i„ four dan

™dr.n Itlr f ■?" ,!l " rm lrf d “'K- of die hand auto-

maucany clutching a beach and supporting the weight of the bode.

.t a dilhcult to believe that the Saint was ready dead: and vet the
sirryr.,.., \ alrnn. opened a vein, and me,deal opinion seemed to

raolrvh/ t, ‘“' lfe w “ 1 ll ™ The care is not a Hide

petplrong. but it seam oensuit that „o mare c( i U M h c perceive'

«h™ ihfS? eUher h a° n W lli!W A > rk hlr of IdrLl ,a,„e
when the vein was opened.

A similar difficulty might be raised in the instance of St. Paschal

1 lc ™ *^ 1 ] 1 Vv 1 ■■ 331 extraorrljnorv mature bedewim?

be brow ami mi i atwlmc flexibility or the limbs maintained durin|

am! " T 1 ‘‘T, l™ 1 ' “ e *P™ d - nte eyes remained brielu

and unclouded, and It was ran- to draw back the evelids. Ti,l

‘ ”j"_ d "LT U “ r U . n T r " eary of “Ting the experiment in
order to lot* into the depth, or those wcmderfol orbs ' '

tli-r! veil HT!*/ ° f ““ wlM> nu '««* Of «z°r could be
discovered ,s .as too great to enumerate and discuss one bv one.

and dm fact, as it seems to me. fortes d lr best an^r i 0
a av. A hfdofti. rus dll B. Gupm if &m 1 ftomp, T7yol, pp Iif .

Library^* * * ' : V * ** *"*“ »“•'*' P"»» in Brirwi Miaeuni

te *-* Otmo >™> S~* 3 «vh Uto

dt lv ™»«y. t* &»I

THE ABSENCE W OADAVEBji: ttiCtniTV

tuggcsdon that these holy rnen and Womea were not ready dead.
Rut n mistake could have been made m one or two isolated
instances ,* conceivable, but ii» c idea of a whale series of blunder*
or die supposition that fatty people were peculiarly liable to
rmo a comatose state without any perceptible sign of life (catalcpiic
nudity** foputMn being also excluded) must surely be rejcctcdi
Hie nime religious men and women who %n\c evidence of the
p.wng away of these chosen soub and of the condition of their
mortal remains wliik awaiting sepulture, are also those who were
' likely to be fiumiiar with the phenomena of trance or ecstasy
I n take a Striking example, 1 may quote the case of die nun,
Veronica La.parelll r who died at Cortona in 1630. She often fell
into Kslasus, which were sometimes continued for as much as
my hours, or even longer. About five ho tin after death the body
wns opened and the viscera returned. One of the surgeons who

°f* rat rE»« evidence upon on,h in the process
of beatification. He declared that there was m cadaveric rigidity

™ ™ e ™* h sup pie without any trace of unpleasant

anti that the eyes were as beautiful and bright as if she were

, ° r heart and viscera in this case com*

pleidy disposes of the hypothesis that life was not extinct. Nun*

dl ' J K irJI >‘«C admitted, some hours after Uik operation

t,J Uirc " 'heir tribute of respect to die deceased, we learn dLit the
were still so bright that the nuns kepi raising the eyelids to
00k at therm 1 he whole face, as on c of them stated, was smiling
pawn thi ndrsst) „ Moreover, to quote another nun witness: '

the hand* and the face, never rff.

! the wcaihcc was bitterly cold; and this I know

because we put upon the fingers rings which were handed to U5
by the crowd who came there mic of devotion, and the ring* could
be dipped on 10 licr ftugen and taken off again without difficulty
1 isn J know heuauve 1 saw it,* 7

AsaLn we have very conclusive evidence or the absence of rhridkv
,he aee ™" 1 S*™' uf Uw scene, which followed upon the death

fBrajun * d tweedy Otribte uniii a veS

1 Vcwiici LipaftlL, Su m urimm n**r pp T 34,-3, ^ p ^

282 THE PKYUCAt PHtHOIEENA l)£ HYSTlCnM

of S. Felix of Camalice in May 1567, He expired cm die Monday
albertooru The body* when washed and laid out rnmc hotrn later*
was quite supple. UTicn exposed tn die dmrch on the Tuesday
llit devotion of dit people lore away almost all the habit in which
die Saint was clothed, and a new habit had to be provided. It
was noticed dial not the learn difficulty was found in dress ini; the
body again. Indeed, as, the inlimmrian declared, there was far less
difficulty in dec sing him now, owing 10 the perfect flexibility of
the limbs, than there had been when he Was lying ill before the
final release came . 1

Perhaps the mo^l interesting class of case in which die absence
of rigidity has been observed U that which is concerned with the
exudation and incomiptiou of die blood- But the present chapter
thrcaicnj to exceed its proper limit*, and these blood phenomena
may very well claim -1 chapter to themselves,

1 4 ASS t May, Vol. IV,, pp. 217 8, 344, jtf.

CHAPTER XII

BLOOD PRODIGIES

I F in ducusing list problem of interruption I was inclined It)
regard the phenomena *u often observed m the Exs-dirs of saints
as inetpUcabie by mere coluddewoc, it may hr- conked that
the analogous wonders recorded concerning the behaviour of thetc
blood after death weighed with me tmich in forming ihat opinion*
Many of these glories are of ancient date. In tiic account given
by Paulinua, the biographer of St Ambrose* concerning the db*
covery of die body of St. Nazarius, he declares that the martyr's
blood after the lap#e of many years was. seen to be " as fresh as if
ii had been shed the mot day,” Similarly, St, Ambrose fiimsclf
states that when tE*e IkkUc' of SS, Gcrvasc and Protase were dug
Up, ** very much blood " was found. Abbot Einhard* the bio*
gtfipher of Charkimgrte. whose credit &\ a veracious dironictcr
standi high, declares, being himself an eye-witness, that when a
translation of the remains of SS, Marcel![mis and Pclrr took place
in hts own monastery, dies ex;iidctl blood for .«.rvrrid day*, 1 1 hough
ihr martyrdom had token place 500 years earlier. There arc a
good many similar statements in CiirOlingioji documents, some of
them obvious fabrications,, others made by authorities nor m all y
regarded ai trustworthy* Still, it docs not seem worth while to
gather up evidence so remote which must always suggest many
doubts, if only from the uncertainties which beset the process of
transmission . 1

One example, however, belonging 10 the rloae of the twelfth
century, seems worthy of notice t partly because it is an English
example and partly because it teats on testimony which is un¬
doubtedly contemporary and for most matirrt quite reliable* The
Saint in question h the hermit St Gntiric of Fmchale. He dirt!

1 dd-&y.i June, Vul. t, i>. iffi.

■ Hie ijr: 4.1J die blood of m*m*j exudh)^ finm the jutcumJ where it fell aod
mrl of 1 t-c thence m^rcted nfid pflBKTYf-rg h found in till!mm

K 11 09) on iJu: miracle? nf St Foillan {.-M ,$$, Oft., VbL JOU, p,

^Vlwn ihe ccclswtic wbn had chunks of the church of Sdeiucs wh lunusiaoed Us
see the marvel r “ Vqtt, vidil., cerdhti* et ofatupuiv* He coliectwl imnr tif «br *
Mood (n .1 pvT and fiijcrij *t in ihr t&ncfiury of the church

28 !■ the pjfytJou i'KKSQHBXA of mysticism

tm May M, t tyo, and lm life wit ten by his devoted friend and

neighbour, R^iuuld of Dutiiam. Gftdnc, who muse have been
over ninety and had been bedridden for nearly eight years, passed
lw -‘y at dawn, and u full description b given of bow the body sva*
Se^vu up in various wrapping* Leaving the feet exposed. newf

of iNe death of the holy mm soon got wind, ami certain personages
of distinction [wbilitttei qui&m), with oilier leas Important folk
crowded T(j the hermitage before: die day wa* out to t?r_’ for tvH li

Under such constraint, ht ore told, hU religious L'reThrt-ti were
induced to cut away the nails from the toe*, and ** cutting rather
n> ° deep, the blood gushed forth,, just as from a living man to dim
she crimson flood besprinkled die hands of him who used the knife,
although the dead body had long before grown cold, for it was now
getting towards dusk and he had died at early dawrt. J » indeed,
as the chronicler explains, at nine oNrlodt the next morning, when
they were on the point of committing die body to the grave, a drop
of fresh blood still showed on the toes* and a devout client, long
afflicted with a disease called * anatmpc this seemt to toive
been an inability to retain any food, probably hysterica] in its
origin—was instantaneously cured upon contact with the blood
when he kissed the dead Saint’s feet , 1

Although the effusion of blood here spoken or, some thirteen or
fourteen hours after death, could not safely be described as without
a parallel in medical experience, lx certainly seems to be very
umnrnaL For example, wc arc told by a high authority that in
general after death- -

incisioni fail to cause bleeding. Exceptions mw be met with
e.g. apparent bleeding may occur in extreme cyan«u, m ^} ltra at
n later period development of gases in ihe trunk express^ blood
from the trunk into the extremities, -

Similarly in Taylor ami Smiths Attdisal Jwispmdtnn we readi

blood coagulate* more slowly in the dead body \hm in a vessel
int*. which it baa been drawn during life or after death. The
blood may remain fluid in il[c vessels in a dead body fmm four io
right, or even us lung os twelve hours after death. It rarely h&ntn
to coagulate until after the lapse or four hours; hut if drawn f^m
n blood*vessel and exposed tu air, it coagulate* in a few mimiis
after its removal.*

1 Reginald af Durham, Dt ViU S. GUrin ([Surcen Sodetyh pp, ^

1 T. ihruiiiii, P«i| 4 Qriau md Mtr&id Aaalntp {1313), p, rj,

* TayTnr *nd Smith, Affirm! Jktitptndttx* VdL |,, p, ^

BLOOD I’RQOIQIES 385

Tlierc teems to he no object in attempting to follow any chrono¬
logical order in the illustrations of post-mortem haemorrhage which
I propose to give in this article. So wc may conveniently deal
here with the case of St. Catherine of Bologna, whose incorrupt
body, though now very blackened and unsightly, lias been pre¬
served intact down to our own day. St. Catherine, the abbess of
a community of Franciscan nuns, died on March 9, 1463, at the
age of forty-nine. According to the custom of the Order she was
buried in the ground, without any coffin, only a few hour* after¬
wards. Almost immediately a remarkable fragrance was perceived
in the place where she was interred, and when miraculous euro
were wrought there, the nuns began to doubt whether they ought
not to have treated the body of their saintly abbess with more
reverence. After eighteen days the confessor of the community
gave the Sisters permission to exhume the body. The face was
crushed and dirtied by the soil, but after the remains had l»cen
reverently washed and cared (or, it recovered all its beauty and
rosy checks replaced the pallor of death. Other marvels also
happened, and liluminata Betnbi, who succeeded Saint Catherine
in her office of Abbess, has left in the account she wrote at the time
such details as the following:

On Good Friday, feeling a devotion to sec the precious remains,
and haring obtained our confessor** permission, we opened the
sepulchre [in which they had now been honourably enshrined' and
on lifting up the silk veil which covered the virginal body, we found
it quite bathed in sweat; while wc were wiping it with linen cloths
it exhaled a most agreeable odour. One of the Sisters seeing a little
hit of skin, which hung from one of the feci, pulled it ofT, and
instantly red blood flowed out from the place, at if the body were
.dive. . , . On the night preceding Easter we again opened the
sepulchre, and what was our joy and surprise at seeing one of the
eves a little open and appearing quite beautiful; a moment after¬
wards the other also opened a little. When morning came the
saint appeared more beautiful than ever; her forehead seemed to
shine, her face was red as a rose and a mild light filled her eyes,
which were quite open. . . . Tliree months after death, she twice
bled at the nose so copiously as to fill a cup with the blood. 1

It must be confessed that there are many tilings in the Life of
St. Catherine of Bologna, written a century and a half after her
death by Father Grasset, which must strike the reader as very *

* Grajv:;. /j/< of A. Calherim (Ontonau Tramlatina), pp. 4G7-9.

a&j

TttE PHYSICAL- flHLKOMENA Of IfYfTlCUsSf

extravagant, The story there told in another cltaptcr of the
vocation of Leonora Poggi is in particular quite incredible. But
the account abbreviated above Is an insertion, a piece of Gm-han d
evidence by an cye-wipics who, even if fanciful ami credulous, can
hardly be ampected ol deliberate fabrication. ihe cliange- of
cobur in the face, and the bleeding at the nose after death, might
possibly be caused by the existence of hypostases,^ or acramuhi-
dorn oT unconcealed blood; hut Taylor and Smith, in dealing with
urrdLar phenomena, speak of a few da?s t not of three weeks and
three tnui l[ jp,, " Shifting of an h^wtasjs," they say, " may cattle

a reddening in the thee of a body which lias been dead throe days”*
I have no doubt dial many of the curious post-mortem hjcmorrhugei
and strange flushings of the countenance, recorded in hagiographi-
cal documents, arc due to hypostases, for 1 have noticed that these
phenomena almost invariably occur after the corpse, in being
transferred from one place ro another, has been exposed to violent
joltings. Bur the bleeding of a body in in citremitjes a month
after death, and the persistence of these hypostaaes for weeks or
i yori without any sign of putrefaction is undoubtedly a matter
l,t fuller investigation. Nothing can be more certain than the
fact dial the body uf St Catherine, fully exposed to the air, was
kept Tor a time In the same by no means roomy chamber in which
the nuns sang their Office and span a notable proportion of every
day m prayer. For two yam they acted as if she were will thdr
Abbess and elected no succor. A link later the b^y was
ptu- ed semed m 3 recess w-liere through * grating it looks upon the
High AJfttr, tod though blackened and shrivelled, it remain* an
the same postion to this day. Grasset declares that fur more than
seventy yean the nails of her fingers and toes grew Like those of *
hviug person and used regularly so be cut, but he adds that in his
own time (1620) this growth had long since ceased, as the ex¬
tremities of die body had become liard and dry A

But our concern b with the phenomena connected with the flow
ot blood from dead bodies, and it is to be noted that, thouch tins
tpw of manifestation is far Less coinmmj than of tbc abgc
of ngor. the number of alkged instances is stffi very consider;, h| r
In the mupnty of ratsm ihii flow of bbod has been occasioned hv
an attempt to cut away some portion of the flesh, unaii or i!reat tL
preserve as a relic, The Ufc of St. Francis di Geronhno, the

* M*4kd Jmstrxdmt* (Ed- xg»), I, p. dSfc

1 Mjftdt, Vo] 1 ft p 3 i **.

BLOOD PRODIGIES

Neapolitan Jesuit, who died in 1716, provides a good example,
seeing that we iuvt here the deposit jo us made under oath during
the process of beatification by the jKnotu principally concernetl.
The tay-Srothcr John tie Ciore, who. when giving his evidence
three or four yens after the event, was forty-eight, yean of age,
teib die following srory* It had been hk duly to clothe and lay
out the body of the Saint for burial.

Father Francis breathed Ids Iasi about ten o’clock in the morn¬
ing* Hu holy body remained soft and flexible and his face
appeared much more beautiful than if it had been that of a living
man. No one could have been afraid of it t and so I, though I
have a horror of carpus, stood close to him and moved an d c toihcd
the limbs with my own hands feeling nothing but delight and
consolation ull th .c lime* Then; were two other brothers helping
me, and while we were trying to make him beep hit hand* upright
and ft little apart in order to receive and hold a chalice between
them before carrying the body into the church, the amuand hands,
bring perfectly limp, kept falling back when we had set them in
thrir p!acc, So 1 mid to him: Father Francis, dear, keep thow
hands of yours quiet just as I put them/ 1 and in fact ihr. hands now
remained as 1 arranged them, without filling down as they had
done twice before, fhcc a pious thought occurred to me, and
together with the other two Brothers, one called Peter MigHcttl,
who is now dead, and the other. Francis Sain, wc determined to
cut out the corns which he had on the soles of hh feci in order to
keep diem *u Hi s. Tim we began to do, im m cutting flic fim
com -it iv+.A under ihr right foot, if I mistake not—blood began
to flow, bri^hi crimson blood, in such quantities that wc had m
use a number t>i cloths to mop it up, betid e* collecting two ounces
of U in a little basin- and it would not stop running, for all the
efforts made to check it by limiting it with (tupaU sfbrnmrta. In
fac^ as I have said, it went on flowing from about half-part ten
until seven in the evening, in such a way that devout people dipped
a multitude of tittle cloths in it, and la particular the handkerchief
of the Signora Principessa della Rocedb Canicluti was so dipped,
and 1 liave heard since that she preserves it with great veneration
io die casket in which she keeps her jewel*, 1

Now, although there Is nothing extraordinary in the fact ih&i
meuion made in the foot half am hour after death should be ful-

tJ&L ^™ e3U ‘ & Dnurnmi rprthuii dtttf t'1/4 At B. Franofa, A Gtrfniai ’

rflcihi, pp. a ^- .3

288

THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA Or UYSTJCUM

lowed by bleeding, I think it will be admitted that the continuance
of this bleeding for eight or nine hours would be regarded as a
most unusual occurrence, even if the trickle from the wound was
very alight, as may have been the case here. It is in any case
noteworthy that many of the witnesses speak of the extraordinary
fragrance which during the three days before burial proceeded
from the body and from the handkerchiefs steeped in his blood, as
also of the flexibility which allowed the Saint’s hands and arnw to
be freely moved by those who could get near the bier.

A very similar case is that of Sister Maria di Gesil, who died at
Angelopolis in Mexico on June u, 1637, *§*d fifty-eight. She
pawed away, we arc told, at three in the afternoon, and the body
was clothed and laid out a little more than three hours later. No
death-pallor settled upon the features, the limbs remained perfectly
supple, a wonderful fragrance made itself perceptible and a copious
perspiration exuded from the face, which moisture, though con¬
stantly wiped away with handkerchiefs, continued until the body
was laid in the grave. Sometime after midnight, one of the mms.
bent upon obtaining a relic, ventured secretly to ait off one of the
toe*, whereupon the blood flowed in abundance, and though she
endeavoured to absorb it with linen cloths and then to catch the
stream m an open vessel, it continual to trickle, until the mitts
applied an astringent powder and prayed for the flow to cease. 1

As previously stated, the hlood prodigies connected with the
wounding of the bodies of saints arc very numerous and belong to
all periods, A contemporary Latin Life of St. Silva ter, Abbot of
Monte Fano, who dial in 1267, recounts how a woman who came
forty-eight hours after he had expired, to venerate his remains and
attempted secretly to cut a portion of flesh fuun his foot' was
detected by the stream of blood which flowed from the wound
“ as copiously os it could have done from a living man"* Similarly
St. Luchcsitis, a Franciscan tertiary, who died In 1360, had the
big toe cut from his dead body, and the operation was followed
by a profuse flow of blood. The legend containing this statement
was compiled before 1320, and Father Papcbroch. the Bollandist
apparently considers it a trustworthy document.* Much more*
remarkable, however, are the cases in which the interval of time
between death and the effusion of blood is a matter of months or
years. St. Tcter Rcgalatus, a Franciscan, died in 1456. I n i 492 ,

* Pitt di Mans dt CUn (Rome, 1739), p. 349.

» C F. Frmncsschmi. \\u di S Sibntn (Jrti, 1773! n ,,,

> AA.SS., Apnl. Vol III. pp.fo30.Cl.., P ' 4

BI.QOD PRODIGIES

3 %

that i! to aav, thiity-sk years afterwards, his body wns exhumed
Hnd transferred to a mane honourable noting place. At the
instance of the Spanish QurrTs, Is&bdk, the hand, or at least
several or the ftngCri, w,ls severed from the arm, and it b stated
tiiat from bodi auriaciM fresh blood (r&atushtnu sanguis) Sowed as
from a living body* and that this discharge continued fbr some
lime* 1 Although the original sources from which (hit account is
derived are not known to us, Father Anthony Da$a, O.F.M., h a
chronicler who had access to ah the records of his Order and b
generally considered trustworthy. In fact, in an epilogue ap*
pended to another work or his, the Vida dt Juma <b la Cruz {Vazquez) t
he inkt very high ground indeed regarding the necessity of observ¬
ing the strictest accuracy in at! historical statements. Another very
remarkable and apparently well attested case is that of the Domini¬
can, Geronitno liutiiiu dr Lanuza, Bishop of Albattrain* He died
on December 15, 1624, and as lie was in great repute of sanctity,
there was the usual contest to re hi in jjossession of b» mortal remains
ai 11 precious treasure. It will probably be remembered that, some
forty years before, the body of Ills great ctmturywouutu* St* Teresa,
had given rise to iimiUr dispute;Thirty -dx day» after his demise
the body or the holy l&ihop was exhumed jtitl found without a
tTUCt of corruption. The face had none of the pallor of death, alt
the joints were supple* the flesh elastic, and the veins stood out as
if they wen: charged with blood. A strange compromise had been
adopted by which the city of AI barra*i n was to retain possession
of I lie I rawer limbs, while the body was to find its final resting place
at Saragossa, A dtilfiij surgeon was summoned to amputate the
legs at the knees, Although some effusion of blood was Ibrtstcn
.Liid Jigatures ituide to prevent it, iHe precautions were quite
ineffectual* li is staled that & great quantity of blood flowed, as
fluid and as vividly crimson as if the operation had been performed
on a living subject* 1 The biography t£ Lanuga, published riventy-
four years later in a Jhlto volume by Fray Gciommo Fuser, 0 ,P,,
who had been his confessor, profiaiis to give the muna of seventeen
persons who were present at tins amputation, together with that
of the surgeon, anti it seems certain that the writer had access us
the formal depositions made by them and by other medical Author!*

1 I>*SB reptodiuxd In &&£$*> March, ViL IFF, pp.aG4c.S6Gu.

■ Tlw author of thii Lift, protaldjr awing 10 Ku iiini)Wiii|ii of iha matter with
■' “ export*, ;jl’iD uih 00 the 1..1 IU1 ihr Wq,> s, a3SJ j mmo fe. n trr ,j! „
- Ll “*) j*™™ •UJJWIM dmi veriLiLU blood or browniltl red srnijn

with a tijip of blood might fee mot with tinder inch arc lltu

*9° the physical phenomena ot MvmcnrM

u« in the process of beatification.* One would liavr liked to see
the actual term* in which the faculty gave their evidence, but
unfortunately these documents are not reproduced in the life, and
the process of beatification is inaccessible to me. There seems
however, no reason to doubt the substantial accuracy of die stale-’
mems made. VV lien the body, thus depriv ed of its lower extrerai-
U« arrived at Saragossa four days afterwards, the face was found
to be bleeding * It mint, they conjectured, have received some
injury in die jolting, of the tramit. But there was still no trace of
comiption and the blood which flowed was fluid and crimson,
like that of a living man freshly shed.*

V cry similar, but in my judgment much lea well attested b the
story of the severed arms of St. Nicholas of Tolentino ' It is
narrated that they were cm from the venerable and incorrupt
rematm o the Sam, ,n , 345 . forty years after hi, death, by a^a 1
Brother who mtended to carry them off to Germany, but that this
ujcr.leg.om art was the occasion of a stupendous flow of blood

7w\ h tl^ n d “ COVCT > of '•* ou'roge and the arrest of die
duef. What » mote remarkable .till, the tsvo arms thus recovered
has me been enshrined a, rolentino in precious reliquaries it is
averred tha, they continued to etni, blood a, intonah during ,hi

Z^J , rV ' d “ d effusions uZl

gardetl, for the most part, as portending some calamity The

evidence for d.r ongmal prodigy a, thr sirring of the hmb i!
oerttunly not satufactory. bu, there can la: no Loru!,lcdlub“
that from the two arms, venerated at Tolentino as those of St
Nicholas, a cunous exudanon of a red fluid, described m^bUmd ”
did take place from tone to lime during the sixteenth and seven-

DttStv ronafcmtJv f " fo 99 * l *“* whar 8 c iccmi to have continued
prettv cunttontly for four months together, and the effudons of

16,1 and 1676 were also noteworthy.* Pope Benedict XIV in

his famous treatise on the Beatification and Canonization of ^

o«

• thd., p. 990.

• In the Life of 5 l Bernard uu* of Siena ouMul rU u ,_.. , .

ROffd from the 1 resell of Thureau.Danxm onr ran ?» cL* * ^ Baron rst

Ur fer twmiv darn .1 5n£* ° fl **uiM

ai Piotuncchio pnininJ the wxm\ arui ikx\ ** A *V ul * (<**cUy

nobir. and the peoph „f ehr tone, both ddr, out the

•«ht of th^ lK.{y, Cqp| Ou: nntnili of which camT» A b ?L thc

rebuked, both tuiei were im»u-j]»s| They mutt luvr im! <rf blood. Thus
them pjunr, however it may lx- rapUindT j.Ra Kcn "******* »hat made

• See N. G. Cep* * * .Rome, ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

BLOOD PRODKfiE-

2 $|

accepts ilic marvel as bn authentic lact and apparently pronounces
it to be miraculous, 1 II is obvious, however, that the science of
that age was unable to apply any conclusive t«t to decide whether
die fluid was really living Mooch or a sort of darkened jerum
devoid of blood carpusde*. The fact seems to be that even modern
science knows very little of the histology of a cadaver m which
normal putrefaction tjnet not lake place

On the whole, it must be -dd that the instance* <>r the effusion
of blood after death chronicled in our hagiographical records are
Giirly numerous, and that they diflrr widely as to ihe time at
wltidi ihe piienomcnDn has been observed. In the case of St,
John of the Cross, the contemporary and friend of Sr* Theresa, w C
are told that his incorrupt bodv was exhumed nine months after
it had been consigned to the tomb. On this occasion before it
was restored 10 its resting place—

"Hie prior, at the request of Zcvattos, cut off one of the three
lingers of ihe light hand which held the pen when die saint was
writing, that lie might give it 10 Dean* Ana as a proof of the story
ie bad lo idh The hand ww full of blood, and the blood flowed
us free] y a; fr«m the hand nil ■. living umn. 2

A still longer interval 11 recorded in the ease of the Franciscan
oaiiiiE, Faeificiis dl *San Severing* I lc died on ftcptrtrHw-r 24, 1721,
and in his case, as in dial *jf m many other etstatic saints, there
was the uniat fragrance and complete absence of cadaveric rigor*
down ir> the time when burial louL place* Mtur than four yeais
later hi* body was disinterred; when it was found quite ineor ;
Eleaihle in every' joint* and emitting a sweet perfume* In moving
the body, however, an accident occurred. The Lejd came hi so
violent contact with the stairway and detached itself from the
trmik, whereupon a stream of crimson blood flowed from the neck
and bespattered the shirt or one Francesco Tarmiimo, who Mu
helping in the removal* Father Mddiiom, who wrote a life of
hamt Potifieo more titan a century Later, dedarrs trial ihis shirt
was still preserved as m relic in thr chapel of.v noble family which
he names. 8

In other cases, the How of blood followed shortly alter death, but
still was judged by medical turn, w ho, despite their very primitive

1 Dt ttrrttftmbvnr,. rtr*, m r IV, P.T, xkxi. ti, S.

1 Ikvid Lew«v Ltft yf Si, 7*4* tVw I Ed.* p igg,

Mddliofri, Viia 1 b Smi Parftfcv <it SnrStutum iRwnf, 1839), pp.

*9* TUT nivsiCAL SHBXOUfcXA ar MVfltCiKU

conrepticrro of disease, bad plenty of experience In practical .mu-
W* o> hr unprecedented anti even miracutmis. Fur cxunqslr,
St Frond* Curare iota, the Founder of on Order of Clerks Regular*
ffieJ or* June 4, ifrofl, at six p^m, Three full days later ii waj
d» :i hid to embalm the body, <u it bad to be conveyed wine
distance to its resting phre. The fim incision <?r the SurgtcnF*
knife, iu fall very great astonishment wu attended with a cooioui
flow of blood tfypmtt t «m^£ie) t wh0c an inexplicable

fragraiiee fiUfcd die whole room. 1 in ihr case of St, ilrrard
MaidU the Redemptor U Uy -Brother, ihr interval was shorter
Three hours after his death on October 15, j 756, a waamiened
bv his Superior, and Ht there gushed forth a copimis flow of niby
wp" Moreover, two days bier* before finally consign! uy thi-
to the tomb, " the Superior of ihe house again opened av eln
«td again there guihed forth red blood that spoke of life rather
limit .T death."’ Even though in such dreuinstances one may be
templed to doubt whether life was ready extinct, it should be said
duu the community and the d.ieton «erin to have been quite
satisfied upon the point. Catts of ihb description are fairly
numerous, ivud without going into details, it may Ire sufficient m
mention that a copious flow if bright crimson blood occurred when
a vem was opened in ifacdead body of Bernard da Online + 16671
;i lynciacan hsy-flroifccr, of the Capuchin Father Antonio da
M-rlma (f 1640) mid Angelo di Acri, another Capuchin in

There is another and a mther different type of blood-wodiEv
cMtmected partly with die preservation of human blood, fluid ami
and parti) With iti apparent efedftm ( had humfa d
10 discuss it ui the present chapter, hut h would hardly be povubJr
to tfo into any detail without extending this facynnd normal limits
ho I will end with the remark that some of the ca«a where blood
ha* Iwen drawn cither from the lying or the dead subject and has
fcmidticd mrcangealed and witltout any either of fomentation
rr^euce, certainty do seem to present a curious analogy with
ll.e absence cfcadavme rigor and the freedom from normal decay
wli;c Ii the student encounters over and over again in nerurinfr our
hagiogntphical records. Meanwhile, it may not be out of 1
to qu^te certain observations of a specialist who seems to h c ,y C

Jf™ Wfatwbp l ■ m Ur la d research, Porf . ,

Hal: b li r ton. T 1 r v*

1 CenctUt, Cwwtfmiij drUa Vito Ji ft /Voirra* GmariU* fR.'tmt. j et

■ Vi«* 3 I-FliWipn US* tfSu GtrnU M&U* {1315J, p, 3K P *

auxin pKaf>[’ 'll-,

J 93

[he ooagulatlon of the Mik*] after it h dm! is, in maiiv point*
■iritiLti- lc, the stitTerims , f [hr muscles which future after death
5™" ngur wait a. The blood plasma is, during hie, a liquid;
die muscle plasma, i f. (be contents of the iaroolonma, is also, dm inn
liEc, hi liquid. Both contain various albuminous matters of a
. ompie^ nature. In both, certain of thee prolekl or albuminous
substances undergo a change after death; this change is a solidifi-
caton; and the solid substance is called die dot; the liquid
raid Lie being called the scrum.

In tJ’- case of blood, the dot h competed of fibrine (with en-
UujglnL corpuscles.!, and alter coagulation has occurred ii float*
in hie*.»d >erum. in the rate of mus* k plasma the dot is eompostd
or myosin, and the liquid residue is termed the musdc serum.

After *pedfvmg certain condition! which prevem the coagulation

f mysdc P 1 *"" “ well as that of Wood plasma, Pmfc«or Haiti-

burton proceeds:

Hits dmiLarity between the behaviour of irnisde plasma and
blood plasma suggested to me that the cause of the coagulation
was liie same in both cases, viz., a ferment action. . . , The
question of die cause of the disappearance of murih at a certain
time after its onset is a question which ? am nt present engaged in
investigating, the commonly accepted theory that it h due to
putrefactive changes appearing to me unwOfifactoryA

Hus seems to promise that science may some day be in a position
to explain by natural causa the curious phenomena which we have
“* considering. But scientists themselves would probably be
cry M 10 that at present the whole subject J the

coagulation of the hlood and its resolution in the cadaver if very
obscure and that nil thcorking is hazardous.

x Nntk Istotnaiioml MeUftit Cmgmr. U atfiin^Eon, 1887, VaL JR pp s bl «± r

CHAPTER XIII

THE CASE OF MOLLIE FANCHER
1

T HE prdCfil chapter dfou as illustrating the difficulty of
precise l imiti to the riiugt or those natural but
unusual manifestations oT man'* spiritual being which
science now takes account uf under t he name of abnormal psycho¬
logy, Two centuries ago such phenomena were summarily di*-
missed, by Catholics ind pn i^tants alike, a witch craft, sorcery,
or. In brief, the work of the devil. Bui this was before the reality
of the hypnotic trance was (recognized, and before attention was
thus directed to possibilities of which curlier ages had no concep¬
tion* Wt are somewhat wiser now, and the delay* which have so
far held up any pronouncement by the episcopal commissions
appointed to report upon the happenings at Ltmpias or the case
! - raa Neumann, seem to show thru, in enlightened cedesias-
u| circles* tlir lessens of caution has been Taken tq heart. In the
P*s a W'bit h f'ilti)" I projxwc to confine myself almost entirely to
the strange facta recorded in the Life of Miss Mol tie Puncher.

Let me begin with a very brief outline of those features in the
ease which constitute its principal interest, Molltc Fancher was
bom in Her life was ipeot at her bum's home in Brooklvn,

New York, and die died in the same house dmnly before the end
of tiic last century, She seems to have be™ a tuberculous sul>jeet
frtun childhood, but as the result at two very serious accidents in
18G5 and 1066 * not long after leaving school, she became an
incurable invalid and never for more than thirty years quitted her
room or, practically spoking, her bed. Her lower limbs, being
beat under her, became twilled and atxnplikd, and ihhvm
followed by permanent hlindnws and a complication of nervom
[as which had curious manifestations. For long years she
.is b capable or swallowing -ffld lived aln.r u completely without
food, but in dds crippled itatc she developed remarkable clair¬
voyant faculties. It was alleged that she often discerned what was
happening in distant towns, that site had knowledge of die contmu

Tilt CASE tjf MOLilE PAN'ClJLEJt

J 95

oT Seated 3 e uen, tiut die cost Id read books with great rapidity bv
pas^ng art ham! nver thr printed page, and it iceius certain duu
she executed thr mwi delicate artistic work in a position over her
h fr , 0nIv P*"' 5 ™ wludi her jiaralvsed ..rm rendered pos-
jbk-where evert the Full me of litr eye, could not have Jvtd
her Further. many witnms® ailest that she could distinguish
with unerring accuracy, fry touch done the adk®ff qft£ wonted?
the wax sheets, and other materials she employed £n her work,
in addition to tilt* there we manifested in her four separate
penpnaho^ each with distinctive dutracteris&l and a hand-
wmm s wiuch differed from that of her nomad wane. She never
rn any proper sense slept, but these personalities revealed ihamefa*
during the night—not, apparently, hi Ulc daytime—ih«r arv
prirmicr bring ushered in by violent coiwuhioxu and a trance
Luuiution w hich was frequently cataleptic.

fcmii exceptional importance to Miss Fanehcr's expert

had 00 inC ™ 1 &** or sympathy with,
pnythtng which bore i be name of Spiritualism, She seems to have

, * jjy ttdnded woman, mid several of h cr most

trusted friends were minium either Presbyterian or Baptist— in
wtuje eyes any attempted communication with the spirits of the
dead savoured of devilry. When an 'tccuuui of this extriardinary
™ was being compiled by judge Abram H. Dailey h, 1893, Mia
IW-htr s enraen. was asked. and she ™ requested to mate known

muni^, fOU c ™™ ,n K h " «™ «i«rf™ces. It. certain com¬
munications received from tier wiib ibis object, the declared:

It hat b«!. charged and stated that this publication it brine

* 53 **? k" u hc ^PJ f - wh " “ “““"“'r known « Spirit¬
ualism. Nothing could be further from the fact, in to far m I

^ riCctTlc 4 ' I hiivi: 2>ecn repeatedly asked to undertake to
act the part of medium fur spirit (OTaamkarions, and l have
invanahly refused to atEtmp* anything of the kind.*

At the same time she adds a little timber on:

It has been ra,d. as the public generally knows, that I frequently
speak of having icon my mother and other friends around me

** ta ' *«« «f l« M«~ corated In

Enp “’ 1 2 ‘- ,oJ ® r Abram H. Dcilcy (Brooklyn,
VrMn. % £ ’ wlW ^ «1 turn i« die fliti tx»k limpiy t* Utr

THE JPHYS ICAE PHENOMENA OV MY5TICJ3H

who arc dead. Then in answer to these questions | frankly and
truthfully say that at limes, at least in spirit, away from the scenes
of this world, I am with friends in jikuj: heavenly plate . My
tfoasdouiness of these thing i- 10 me at real as die experiences of
my life upon this earth. I often see my mother and other friends
around toe, and in my drear)- day# of sickness, pain and suffering,
and when my spirit is depressed, f can hear bet tender voice speak¬
ing to roe words of cheer, bidding me " licar up, be brave and
endure " . . Who with body and limbs racked and disjointed h\

disease, bedridden for ujrwards of twenty-seven years, will not lon^
11 * l>e neleuwd from pain and suffering, even though that relief b
only to lie found in utter annihilation ? . . . At times I have seen
artniurl me, and around my friend* who call to sec me, the angel
foiTiti of time persons who am supposed to be dead. Whether 3
see what it sectmi to me 1 see, and hear what I seem to hear, let
others form their own condtuiom, ] know what 1 see as well as
they know what they see. 1

Whatever judgment we may pass upon these visions, it svettiJ
cie.ir that they were as real to Mo llie Fanchcr as those w hich Anne
Catherine Emmerich or Teetna I ligsjinson believed so confidently
t> be revelations of God's special favour. Unfortunately, no
detaili are preserved to m of the impressions MoIJie received duriuM;
her sojourns " with friends in most heavenly placet” She art*
ttiinly seems to haVe convinced other people that there was sontc-
tlikig iu what she saw in the course of these mmsuaj experiences.
A certain Professor C E, West, the head of Brooklyn Heights
Seminary, was an intimate and very early friend of hers A fetter
af Wts to the fiupih Gtfttmr in 1078, while describing her a* a most
devout Christian who " shrinks from any public exhibidun of
herself,” mentions that “ Spiritualists and curicBity^scchcr* have
wught icetr* to her, bat have failed. Her power of discriminating
that utter b sc great that she ia rarely, if ever, imposed Ltporu"
.Some fifteen yean later the same Professor West records:

She h ill rtveal.’i J dime-- to me of which I had no conception—
mainly while we were talking on religion* topics. She is .*• “earnest
a Chris dan a-, I ever knew. \\ iiai she icra [he means dairvovanth
only makes her Faith the stronger * . I think she ha: of

the other world, if she has not indeed been there. I tell

yov that strangely inicresting part or her experience. After the U

■ -VtF„ p. fr>

me CASE op HOLXJE FASCHEJt

rl^ad it w ill lit known, hiu it u more of a revelation than that seen
bv John Irom the Isle of Patmos. 1

And hr-re it may br well to say something of the book m which
these testimonies are primed, a book which is unfortunately nlrnm
Inc only available source of informa tion regarding Mol lie and her
At range pbriiomrna. Phe compiler, as previously mentioned, was
* certain "Judge Abram H. Dailey." This tille scenes to imply
'ofue : ; ort of odidal legal [rairion, but whether on account of the
writers advanced age or some other reason, it Is not the kind or
book which one would expect from .1 man accustomed to marshal
t. niriice anti estimate its value. The narrative is confused, ill.
written,* full of repetitions and by no means free from mb prims,
especially where dates occur. Ir iJr- volume represented nothing
hut Judge Dailey's impressions one might be pardoned for thinking
ilir whole record worthless* But the author, partly, perhaps, to
J himself trouble or to swell out the volume to a respectable
' ll “■ j li35 thrown together pdl-m-dl a number of testimonies from
die In aids and acquaintances of the invalid, and there terms no
f fra son to suppose that f.he*c have not born printed as they u n c
'Wnlten, ibr tin; contributor of the statements in miestion were
nearly all living when the book was published. Some of them
owminly wen- men of standing and intelligent*. For example, the
I rotes sot West who baa jiut been touted, delivered, in ifc an

cn f lcd 41 F % >^« of Progress," From a cop, of this
brochure of 150 pages, which I have beam able to ton ti sit at the
- Museum, one is led to Infer that the write-] was a man
much respected among Ids fellow minister* of religion, and the
l™f or intelligence, wide reading, and a religion,
*ptnt. A letter n included addressed to Dr. West by Padre Sect hi,
b j.. m 3^77, from the Observatory qf die Cnllegk. Romano. ]
tuay add here that apart from Professor West * positive tatinionv
Um quoted Inter) regarding Mia Fandier’s gift of clahvovanc*
and her inability to retain nourishment, he, like many more of hei
inumarcs, express a strong conviction as to her truthfulness. He
saya for example

I never knew a more truthful, sincere and intelligent girl than
s. c ha* proved herself from the very hot of run acquaintance* * * .

* Kf( p. ato.

1 Judge tJuicy h ju a panScuUdy irri taring habit <sf

Cti t<.-rr\f pcrisj LiC- Dcciikm

jjLica/ 1

u & iynrjtjvTn for iH occur.

‘ usiug (hr werd Imartir#
V* " happen," w - laic

396 nn physical rtnN<jji£ffA of nvfnoaai

I Have spent my life in study and I have devoted much of it for die
past twelve year* to Mollic Fancher's case. 1

Naturally in such a ease it is the medkat evidence which u of
m<j*[ importance. One svouM have liked fuller details than wc
P° f,>cs S l*ut Judge Dailey has, at any rate, preserved a statement
ivlikh was nude on July 26, 1893, by MoSlie's ordinary 1 medical
at tetirbin!, Dr. S. Fleet .Speif, and taken down Irom Ms dictation,
at the patient's residence, itio Gatri Avenue. Brooklyn. From
this I copy the mart salient points: 1 Dr Speir informs u> that he
had becn in cluufce of dir r-.e dm- April S, iff#), a period of
twenty-seven yeati, and also that Or. K.-liert Ormhtott had been
associated with him m coimilteliOTt during most or that time* It
h important to note thuL Dr. Onniiton wa» pnr*ei]i when ihr state¬
ment WHS riiJiGc and hint fie fortnulky corroborated ii ( declaring 1
" 1 an 1 familiar with nearly all the fact, to which Dr. Spcir JuU
referred, njv.i hi 50 far as l tccaij dirm thev are correctly sutnl
by bun/ 1 *

Kcganlin^ Lite impression that Mis- Fanchet was piir.1-

lyiCifj Dr. Sjteir raise: imnc demur as to the correctness of cite term

As .1 matter of Fact lie ■a 1 : _ riLc has ncvci beei. parniysecl hi the
tense in wlifcfe thm Word is usually understucrth She lias lost the
iise of her limbs and .it timer hits lost the power of sensation. Ai
nearly W 1 cm, tecollcxi, for a period of alwut nine years her
1 -wrr hmbii were hi a thm twin. The rc^h to the limbs has beat
uistead of beiny t 3 ie natural hinge joint, the knee approaches
the condition of a ball and locket joint: her limbs are drawn up
backwards—-the anklet bent over, and the bottom of the tool up¬
wards— and remainii ik L. that condiuyu, Thin is so of both fret,
llir limbs cannot be straightened out; they are contracted under¬
neath.

For a period of about nine y am, day and night, she was subject
10 nances, spurns and catalepsy. During this time die most
constant care and Attention were required to prevent personal
injury- these spasmodic condition* dte wua liabb from time to
<™ [t> 1>C dircwij up«n the floor, to dial b arrirades woe placed
around her bed to prevent ihh happening. Her ipamuxik condi-

1 M.F.y p. UOJ,

■ ihxv * iSfi dlghijr mod ifird the whew ihe mUwjce of

the report would not be affected, Ai t* luhte to - ra-w-

the WDtema Ur often very dtumLEr phnied
1 M.F-, p- a 16.

in nn ■'■Ti) iiiirmnf,

TUB CASK Or MOt.UH FANCHEH

299

(ions were so violent that the was hurled backwards and forwards
with great force and rapidity. There was a back motion which is
hard to explain, by which she seemed to be thrown into the air,
rising from her bed. At times her body would become rigid, and
upon one occasion one portion of her body was turned to the right,
and the other to the left in a distressing manner, and remained so
for quite a time, she being in a rigid condition.*

These violent convulsive movements are of much interest in
connection with those cases in which the sufferer was believed by
mediaeval observer* to have beat assaulted and thrown about by
the devil. Not less important are Dr. Spcir's comments on Mollie's
rejection of all nourishment. He seems evidently to have sus¬
pected at first that there was some deception in the matter, ns the
following passage shows:

To be certain that Miss Fancher was living without solid food
for the long period of time which was stated, I resorted to giving
her emetics, and the result was that nothing was thrown from the
stomach, showing conclusively that the stomach was empty.
During die period of nine years the quantity of food which she took
into her stomach was so little that it was a matter of great astonish¬
ment how life could be sustained.*

We learn from the notes of Miss Crosby, the patient's aunt, that
enemas, battling with oil and other indirect methods of nutrition
had been employed, but they were abandoned as useless after
more or less prolonged tests. In 1866 at the beginning of this
period of inanition wc are told that on May 20 th slie asked for
food, ate a small piece of cracker and took a teaxpoonful of punch,
this being the first food which her stomach had been able to retain
since the beginning of April. On June 2nd food was introduced
through her contracted throat by the aid of a stomach pump, but
" h threw her into convulsions and her throat dosed. She could
neither take nourishment nor utter a sound." Miss Crosby, who
seems to have kept careful notes at this period, records that ** the
only nourishment she has retained on her stomach from April 4,

1866, to October 27th, has been four teaspoonfuls of milk punch,
two of wine, one small piece of banana, and a small piece of
cracker. ,J A Mrs. Townsend, a friend who was constantly in

1 !**■ P- a*J • M.P.. p. sis.

■ In a contemporary entry in brr dian Mia* Crmlry iut». referring to her
nlere. “ since the 6th day of August (a period of three month*) the natural fane- •
lion* fcr relief iuive not been « « retard at all * M.F., p» 47.

30© TIEt PWYSJCAL ntENOMENA Of MYSTiCJMI

^nd out of the house at this early period, con firms this, ‘ 1( is
wtJJ knouts/ 1 she writes, " that for the First nine years she could
keep nothing jolid on her stumaoh. 1 am positive that she was
unable to teep anything down and in fact could not svrallow
during the first yean I knew her.' 1 * What renders this testimony
the more convincing a the feet that MoilLe in her crippled state
w» certainly incapable of getting out of bed, and for a long time,
on account of the convulsive spasms to which ihc wa* subject
could not apparently be left alone during the night. To eat by
Jtc.dlh* for her, must have been impossible. Dr. West, who .il >
visited her frequently, stated in a printed letter to a newspaper
(1S78):

Water, tbr juices of fruits and other liquids have been introduced
into her mouth, but scarcely any of than ever make their way into
tier stomach. So sensitive has this organ become that it will not
retain scything. Id the earlier pari of her Nines* it collapsed «a
that, by placing the hand in the cavity, her spinal column could
be felt.*

When somr attention was drawn to the case in iR/U, the Jftw
r»tk Htraid on October 30th published an article which scerna to
have scaped the notice or Judge Dailey. The reporter of the
Herald liad verv rightly been refused admittance in the house in
which the poor invalid was living, but Uc managed to discover the
names of her medical advisers. Dr, Ormiuon, ©n being inter¬
viewed, is stated to have said: ,f Tt seems incredible, but from
everything I am learn, Mollie Fane her never can.** The doctor
went on to declare that the aunt, her constant companion, who
testified to this, was a person oT the highest character, and he
adrift: “ During a dozen visits to the sick chamber J have ntv.er
detected evidence of ihr pailou*i having eaten a moriel T ’ Find-
ing hia way thence to Dr. Spdr, the reporter put the question-
M Has she e^ien nothin st during all thra fourteen vears ? 1 The
reply was in these terma:

1 can safely say she has not, i do ©ol believe that any food—
that ii, solids—hai ever passed the woman's lips since her smack of
paralyrii consequent upon her mishap. As for an occasional
tewpoonfid of water or miifc, I sometimes force her to take it bv
using an instrument 1o prize open her mouth. But that is painful
* MJF* f>. in.

* M.F , p 17 ^. t>r VVn

//r-it?. (7.

TttE CASE OF UQMUE FAJVCJlEk JOT

to her. The ease k«rw:k> the bottom out of all existing medical
t!and b. In .1 u urd, miraculous.

After rrJ'rJ tjni# (n the tmdio hr bad adminincred* Dr. Spdr wmi
on:

1 have taken every precaution against deception* jo rrw times going
10 the house at tlevcn or twelve o’clock at night without being
ann'rtinc rrd, but have always found her the same and lying in the
-;ame position. My brethren in the metrical profession at first were
inclined to laugh at me and call me a fool and a spiritualist when
t told them of the long abstinence and keen intellectual pown-s of
tny interesting patient But such as have been admitted to sec her
are ramvlnad. These are Dr. Ormistcm, Dr. Elliott and Dr
Hutchison. mi me of the host talent in the diy* who havr seen ami
believed.

fhe reporter then went back to Dr. QrmUtoq.j but found him
m ttpj way inclined to withdraw from his former declarations,
Ois dir contrary, he strengthened them by saying: 11 Her tenacity
uf life fur fourteen yean.* without sustenance enough to feed a baby
for a week* appeals strongly to my unwilling belief in supernatural
visitations, 1 ' 1

1 cannot find in subsequent bines of the Herald that the doctor*
wlu> were so reported made any attempt to repudiate ihr language
attributed io them.

The nutrition trouble seems to have begun in Mol lie Fancherb
school days. Her stomach even then t( rejected most kiudi- of
food," and the doctors, being persuaded that she suffered from
nervous indigesiion* recommended her to take up riding a? an
exercise. This resulted In a very bar! fall in which she struck her
head against the kerbstone and broke a rib* though her completely
rippled condition only followed upon a second accident, when In
stepping out of a iranvcar her crinnhne gut caught in the vehicle
and she was drugged for many yards along the roadway. A
curious remark is recorded of her m the early stage* of her illness
Vhen ilicy were trying to force food upon her which her stomach
rejected, ,mtl which caused her great duircss. Mer aunt, Mis*
Crosby, urging her to make an effort be ause it was necessary to
Citt in order to maintain Life, she is said to have replied that she
received nourishment from a source of which they were all
ignorant,

1 Thr ,Vfi» r«rt Iftral^ October 50, 1878. p. n,

3*02 Tin Pirystcai, naattiiEEftA or nYrncmi

h\ the prince ciTthe factijust quoted it s«mj difficult to affirm
with confidence ifiji die dlfitidlnnuun few food which wc f m d so
constantly muring in the case of ainind all vitiftnarifcv^- tern*
C.-athcrine hnnnerich. Domestic.-* T.. ;iart T I^emkc L^leau, Teresa
Miggiftwn, I'hcraa Neumann, etc., not to speak ofmany canon :kted
S.tiiHs—is necessarily of apernatural origin.

I o return, however, lo J )r. Sprigs statement of 18^3, we have
itiU to quote the observations made by him concern inn MuLUc's
very abac-an til fatuity of ught He say*;

Wife reference to the condition of Miss Fane her'* ryes. When
I first attended h« it craned 10 me that her eyes were in such a
1IULC that die could nut sec by tlir H i? of them. On (lu : date her
eye* were glaring open, .aid did act . Ime day or night, unci theft
weft no [ear* o. Kenyan in them, [ nnide the muni ten for
muerthesia, wen point; (o the extent of touching the hall of the
eye with my linger, without provoking any reach an. During the
first part 11 iblcs, t he pupils were c'o nddwah I j d i luted and

die jmpfoiiou of light effected no change. The pupils are still
conridri.vbk dilated, though not so much as formerly and still do
not change at the approach of light, Wc have caused a careTul
and emiad examination lo be made hv « competent expert—an
oculist—m whose skill we have great confidence, arid agree with
mm that die cannot see by tile use of L*r eye- u least as ;» person
ordinarily can sec. She has the power oT vvith a

deal of dUuncuiras, but how die does it 1 am miabtf to state ^The
condm^i hus remained rubjumtially unchanged since I hr.c began
10 attend her. This famre of Mia Panthe?* power ofsi-ht has
uUr rocd a great deal of comment. At one time she did all her
work, crocheting, etc., at the Iwck of her head. What the selected
wonted or colour she pm it l>rhind her head to see It For mne
J™ hrt n S hl ™ behind her head, where she did her work
by the left hand up to the right hand, which was at the

back Of her head.

1 recall one instate, when, Dr. OmhUm and m ™Jf bdne
present, Mm Crosby received a letter from the postman, I took
the letter in my hand; it was sealed, and Mm Fancltrr, at the time
hang unable to speak, took a slate and pencil and wrote om the
content; of the letter, which, on being opened and read, was found
lo wmpoiid exactly with what *hr had written. During that
trnir she maintained conversation with her phytLdam and friend*
hi die uw of die dau% lie Infing unable to speak. On another

Tin: TA5E OF MOLLIE F^CIJER

occajqon she gave me warning ih« I was Ukcly to be robbed, and
told me to be on mj guard. J be sequd was that. immediately
after, \ was robbed of a valuable ease of instrument** On another
occ 4 iton I had invited a number of doctor* to call at Mb* Fan-
chrr'i home* .uul wr were waiting for or.c to arrive, when she
t.dtl " He si comiii”, [ jee him coming now / 1 and told where hr
was, which was correct.

During my acquaintance with Miss Faneher and her aunt, Miss
Ciosbv, during her lifetime, ilic actions and conduct of both entitle
them to what they always lud—our lushest respect and esteem., . .

Upon 011c occasion when she had lust the power of speech, I
was present when someone made a remark to which die took
exception. She took a pencil in her left hand and rapidly wrote
a reply* which at first none could read, She had written backward,
nunrnmdng at the end of a line and end of a word and so to the
beginning. By holding a looking glass we readily made it out.
It was a sharp, caustic reply,

One irmarkahlr feature during all thr-e year* she has been
confined to her bed is that she lift* never been afflicted with bed¬
sores, although her right hip, from constant pressure, ri flattened*
and the fleah fa gone, so that the bone is merely covered by the
inlrgumeni She has always explained, when a&ked how she saw
without tile use of her c\ c-j, that the saw out <:f the top of her head.

Mbs Puncher experiences quite remarkable condition.- from the
irtion of her heart, At times the chest oyer the heart scraa con-
-idrrably enlarged; it presents sprucihinE the appearance of
oedema, hut responds to pressure in a different manner. It leems
more elastic, and every day she coughs up aljom [tali' an ounce of
blood, which comes from thr- mucous membrane oi the throat and
bronchial tubes . 1

These arc the principal data a (tested by Miss Fincher 5 * ordinary
medical attendant, Dr Sped’, and confirmed by his colleague, Dr.
O mutton. But 50 far as regards her powers of vision there is
abundance of corroborative evidence contained m tine statement!
of either intimate friend* of hers. Judge Dailey avers, apparently
as the result of what hr himself Itad witnessed, that if one " took
a diarp knife and made a movement as if to thrust it indtp her eye?,
she would not recoil or exhibit iliedighrestapprchemion of danger,"

TIH PHYSICAL PHt.VOWtNA OP mysticism

At the i.ime time in her most sensitive conditions— lie ad mils none
the !ci> that thr HditcncTJ of her perceptions varied considerably
according to the state of her health, the weather, anrl other
causes—" she is able tO distinguish colours, even to die meat
delicate shades, not only when absolutely concealed from her
normal sight, hut while in the pocket of an other and when the
experimenters did not know tlir colour of the article to be des¬
cribed’” 1 He also remarks: " that the did ice, could and can
see, from the top of her head and from her forehead, cannot permit
of a reasonable doubt. She reads letters placed up h her fore¬
head, and lias done so hundreds of Her friend, Min

Townsend, referred to above, states: " she used to put Seated
letters under her pillow and read them. Sometime* she read by
rubbing her hand over them, and I have seen her read boob In
the L -T.m c uay. Ma PtoftsKir West Met dmiLuly:

When 1 first saw her she had but one sense, that of touch. With
that she could read with many times the rapidity of nnc % eye*
^jbt. lliii- jIip did by running her fingers over the printed ki^es
with equal facility In light or darkness. With the finger* she could
discriminate the photographs of persons, the faces of callers etc
She never deeps, her rest being taken in trances. The most
dthrnte work is done in ihe night She performs none of the
ordinary functions of life except that of breathing, 1

Jv,me further details which have still to be given concerning
Fauchcr, vuaons, her power or sight, and her diffrrrni
jx-rr. mihiu- mmt be postponed to another occasion, but there is
on * txnil * cm * irk * Hkr to make before concluding du*

chapter, 1 Whatever we may think of the statements of fact con¬
tained m Judge Dailey 1 , book, ihtj certain!* were nor ^.r,

Ttt* CA*B Of tTOLUJE F ARCHER, 305

involving belief in the supernatural Rut there b not in the
American book, so often referred ti>, the &intesl indication of any
acquaintance with Catholic hagiologv or its phenomena, No hint
emerges of a con tro versM n lorivc. Certai n friend* of Mis 3 fancier,
profoundly impressed by what they had seen, thought it
that the circumstances should be put on record: dmt u alL It u
quite likely that some of them were guilty of considerable ew.ggera-
ttons. Everyone with a novel discovery to announce U anxious
10 make lib story as impressive as possible and inevitably err* in
tile direction of overstatement. Hut 1 cannot persuade myself that
■■unli a book as Afdlit 1 <L\ehfr t thr Brooklyn Enigma could have been
compiled and published il' the experiences and faculties laid to her
credit were not subsmilolly in accord with facts, Wha; b certain
[s dial the ora! itatemetit taken down in j 3^3 from the lips ofDrs.
Spdr and Ormision, then still in charge of the cate, is in fuU
n^rccment with ibe aernmit communicated by them fifteen year*
earlier tu the reporter of die .Vtu- York IhraLi, Anyone who wishes
to do so may verify the feci, as I have done, by Lomuking tile file
of that journal accessible in the British Museum,

Perhaps the most &atbfactory evidence preserved to ui regarding
Mollic Panclier'i strange powers of vision and La particular her
faculty of reading sealed documents, is contained h« certain com-
mimirations «r a Mr. Henry Parkhunt who wrote to the jVtw York
Httald when the case was being discussed by the American Prtss
m r$j8. Mr. Farkhum was a scientist of some standing, and a
litric biter held an official peritkm in connection with the pbserva*
uirv- of Harvard University** He and his wife lived near .Miss
F&nchcr at Hmoklyr. and were wel runic visitor* in Mol lie's sick¬
room. In ihe earlier stages of the care—the year, to be precise,
vvaa 1867—while the poor paralytic was ;iill unable to vpeak. Mr.
Parkhurst devised a crucial experiment to test her alleged power
of read itig wi thn nt the tiie of t lie organs of visir n. A slip of printed
paper, so chosen at random that neilijcj Mr. Parkluuu him < elf
nor any other person knew its contents, 11 was given 10 the blind

1 A paper Of Mr. PiArkhunt\ enlilted Obrnratunj eui VqriaM* $&ri, oEEdillv
tmird from Kb mud Observatory, U catalogued undtr lib name in the Library
el si!i-“ Krilbh MiLirtnn

* Mr. Parthiim win ihm receiving (be pro. ft of certain tinpublblied WftUtim „
mraiiirovery BlkceUailcQUi tiiUtire, Hfrul nwttr rftlirse up intoiW wtllOUt
readmit iheni Elnbornre prrrat] [iam were !-ben so -chet .>ne quite by tuuard.

306 the r ante am. fhjevomma op MWTttitiaf

girl in a carefully scaled envelope, pr«3WJtieui being taken against
fraudulent opening As Mol lie at that time could iidtficf Apeak
nor even write, site communicated Laboriously by knocks, spelling
ouc single words tel ter by letter as the alphabet was called aloud,
" CbniequcntiyA says Mr. Paikfiuost, " all that was expected or
desired of her was so much i i>r an indication of the content of the
primed slip as should be absolutely htyoiwl guessing or dtaiicc,"
She first intimated that die dip was about ,J Court," She next
read the word " jurisdiction/' staling positively that the ivord was
tliere. Finally t she notified ifiai the cutting contained the figures
•\ -i 3 p T L his Mr. l'arkhuiai regarded as sufficient information
for his piu-jxxte, for, a* he explains., +f t had no idea ilia; there were
any figures on the slip and 'hoiild have guessed that there were
«Nt, The letter was returned to me With the peal intact ami was
opened hi my presence. 1 Tlw word "Court 1 occurs four times,
jurisdiction ' once, and dine are the figures i>, 2, 3, 4, y, and no
oiiirr figures’ Hit cutting, hr explains, was taken from the
printed dealt of :i bid before the Maryland Corutitutioiud Con-
vent Eon. Mr. Parklmrst hud no notion that there were likely to
be numbers on the slip he had submitted. M It war not," lie
writes, "until the envelope wn§ opentd and found to contain
section 6 with the lines numbered a, 3. 4, 5, tltat the idea neeiured
«■ me tiliit dir line mitnlirn could possibly Itave l>cen upon the slip."

The detail* furnished by Mr. ["m-ldiom are somewhat too
copiotu fur quotation in f l ill, but Lie elates dearly uiat the account
primed in the A-a IWf Htrdd cm November ^•<. 1878, was copied
by him from do cumen ts drawn up and wiiuri etl at the time, and
:t,so that the printed dip lined for d tc tr.-s wai still b hb praesskm*
An editorial comment welc appended to tlinr ctttntuimica lions, It
jccms thoroughly to endorse the hmstworthin&s of \hr. rawimusi,
and begins as follows 7

Ihofcaor Farkhrnit’i interesting letter detailing j|iS attempt to
the cLurvoytinl powers of Misi Fane her . . . h the rnmi im-
p"! mt paper yet railed forth by the discussion of the case It
"™ hardly probate that a man of scientific bent and methodical
buiinead habits, as the write -T the tetter k known to be could
have U*n deceived at any uage or thr experiment, the details of
Vi Inch he givci so miiuifcU- to the public.

: Mj KvWmrn-i Alrnmil wxi eunJirrned U vStnf«, wfc, h ut 55 ,^ him

in p«ja?™g .be r^vrHp- hui «i*>, like UittmM, while « the wmieb^StSE
■ay pembte tnefcery* were %aocanr yt rht? cement* uf Us* dip aeiond.

nif sa it o* uut.ut rANctutt

307

It is noteworthy that ihr publicity given i 0 Mm Fsmeher'k case
by the newspaper discussion of a 878^—it was in fact, carried on in
sever nl other journals besides t he Vtw Tvrk Ha aid —tv as cUrrnWrly
distasteful to the invalid bciself, Mr, Farkhuot, for ciiample,
remarks m as letter: tln-se pnbUrations have been thtlt f;irm idc
without the hkhrue and mpm the wishes or Mis* F&ndier and
latrr friends: and t> one of her friends I shall continue to keep
silence with pcfnrc-nce to the physical aspect! or the tiSe. <T He
adds, however t th;*! he had obtained her permission to make known
the facts ofthr tc^i be Imd tarried out, bei^feuxr “ 11 demonstrates,
15 ^ to me, w far ?j it it posdbtc rnr a single experiment

to demons I rate a gen rru| principle* that there may be a rlau-
voymnee independent i>f miiuhreading.” Wr ran feel little doubt
dial Moilic was greatly huEnsscd t»y r minus won Iridic investigators,
and the Xtw I •.•?*. litralJ^ in hi cOtOtnenW* wishes hrr “ good
1 id dance of the swarms of Enquirer? wh<> beset hci without respect
for her feeble health." Whnt mode her* no doubt, quite resolute
in doling her cfoor to all except those whom die remguked as
pcriMirmi friends, was her consciousness 6 f her pitiable impotence
and the knowledge that convulsive spasms oAeo came upon her
with little nr nn warning. (X these curious states it will lie notes-
,Jr y to spvak IbttbtT nn. Shi' seems by nature m have been
sensitive and reserved From the testimony of Professor Wot and
Judge Dailey, one gathers that die was by no me ans anxious to talk
of hrr visimij. 1 lin, we tftiisf believe, is also the ettic with Catholic
mystics, lercia Hlggiuson reiterates again and again that only
die positive order of Iter dlrocinr could induce her to speak of what
she liatl seen in her eatery, and whatever we may flunk of the
record of Anne Catherine's revelations made to Rreiiutno, he riftcn
complains of the difficulty he found in inducing hrr to continue
her liarfiilive. Mollle Fanclirr ha no conic^or tc^ put her under
obedience, and when she was questioned about her trances hv
Judge Dailey she replied only in general terms as follows: 1

Well, when 1 go into mv tmticcs \ am usually conscious of being
in existence, but they arc not like dreams;, They -uc like imfifitirifl

1 Prr/nwrr Wrrt\ tr-i rmrutti r nbt^u “ R tim Ml of Jinn tbrr would " imj * 11 rtvt-
»Uo» '■ which Ijr; cdlimilris to |]j aE of St. John m dit tile of iv* ^buve,

^ show* tint tu him xi a riHttrnwiil MolUc Ull made atiwi oinfirj aic«

’Ir [jnuiLisetl lhai ibrtc thlnp wouH W pmdt known uflri hrf JfaiJ], but die
ourhvn. Iur« Mr. Went, iliwurh hr w*» t-rty iniinwic with Iwr, rem*i*t:

Mu r anensr wai ,:ikI alwml ha* |>rea vm reticent in t^jkius of lin o«m
iniirr consiot^ncst, What ilic mid cnpcrLcm.ti in ihe*'" tram •> jr » not
uiclttwd cuf lur own volitkai id aiaic." p. 77,

308 the miyucal phenomena op mysticism

wandering, something like the dreams 1 used to have when adeep
before l was injured. When I conic out of my trances, they at
times leave quite distinct recollections or impressions upon my
mind. Sometimes they are dim and arc slowly recalled and then
become very dbtiiict. Now, as a usual tiling, when l go into a
trance, I go out and around and sec a great deal. Sometimes I
go into a house and view the condition of the rooms, and do not
see anyone in the rooms. Sometimes I see persons and nothing
more. I very seldom speak of where I have lieen and who I have
seen. At tbc time when Mr. Sargent was incorporating this
company I am connected with, lie was at Muskegon, Michigan.
I went into a trance and was gone for hours. My friend, Bert
Blossom, was present in the room, and when I came out of the
trance I found him greatly alarmed thinking I was dead. I told
him I had been away to where Mr. Sargent was, and saw him on
a stage, anti he was singing to an audience of people in a large
room. 1 liad seen and heard him. Mr. Blossom said that dial
was most unlikely; but within the next three days I received from
Mr. Sargent a letter, informing me of the foci that a Mr. Chase,
at Mmkr^un, had opened a large piano factory, and tluit they
had celebrated the event by a concert, at which he had taken a
pan in singing; and he also sent me a newspaper giving an account
of die uffair, and 1 subsequently learned from him that I had
corrccdy described die event and scene. 1

Several similar incidents, in one or two of which lie was personally
concerned, are recorded by Judge Dailey. But most of Miss
Fancher’s friends had something of the sort to relate. Mrs,
Townsend on one occasion was sitting in the invalid’s room with
Mrs. Parkliurst, the wire of die Professor whose test experiment
has just been described, when suddenly Mollie ** went into a rigid
trance.*’ When she came to, her two visitors asked her where she
liad been. She told them dial site had been to see " Aunt Susie "
(Mias Crosby) then on a visit to Cornwall, a small town about
thirty miles off on the Hudson. “ She gave a description of the
people in the Cornwall house and of what they were doing.”
Miss Crosby, we arc assured, on her return corroborated every detaiL*
This faculty of clairvoyance, if we may so describe It, seems
to have varied greudy in intensity, and on die whole to have

* MS., pp, *30-3. Full confirmation of these facta
obtained from Mr. Sargent and other «n»rr*«

* pp. t io-ii.

*«t» to have been

THE ItASK OF MOLLJ2 feiNCHEB.

3»9

diminished n Miss Fanch^i physical condition improved in the
Course of yean, Aiuwcr^g some questions put to her by Dailey
mi June 15, 1893, Motile is stated to have replied:

Well, as I have said, my vision ts not always the same; much
depend* upon how 1 am feeling, and die weather condition*.
Some times the whole top of my head sreim on tire with the influx
of light; my range of virion is very great, and my sight astonish -
itigly clear. Then again it seems as if I tverc seeing through a
smoked glass, and my vision, or consciousness of things, is dim
and indistinct. Sometime* I can ace all through the house. When
my aunt was aUve it was the most common thing for her to mislay
her purse, veil or gloves* and not know where to look for them.
She used to come to me to find them, and I would rummaging
through the house and finally tell her where they were lying. I
liAve the umc poweni now, but not at all times. Were someone
to come suddenly and a*k me to do tuch a thing, I might not at
the moment he able, hut after a liulc, when not anxious to set,

I can see most clearly.

Professor West, who had known her when ihc was most afflicted,
declares:

She knows who iter visitors are long before they are ushered into
dn- hah below, and she allow* them 10 see her, or refuses, jun a*
tnc whim takes her. 1 took Kossuth** sister there just before her
departure for the Old World, Miss Motile refused to sec her.
Afterwards I ^IeccE Mollie for an explanation. M Why I l didrft
like her looks when die entered the door," was the reply. The
door is on the floor below. 1

At the time when Dailey's Ijook was in prcpartuxon (c tih^j
Mr. Sargent formed the impression that Mol lie was regaining her
natural sight. Judge Dailey did not agree. They were both
conversing in the invalid s room, and the Last named, u he tells
in, took steps 10 prove to his Friend that her vision was still alto¬
gether fjjcternormah

t immediately rose, and securely covered her eyes by placing a
ileu 1 hie handkerchief over them, and covering the lower part of her
face tu she lay upon her bed, t here was not a movement any nf

1 M-F-t p- 'J'jg,

310 TUT: PHY&lCAt PHH«0*B3HA or mysticism

us could make. ot a thing which -.sre could do, v. iiich the could not
distinctly describe to us, with as much readiness as cither or us
could hnvx done had the same vTCCfi dour before our eyes, . ,
She sen best and rends most readily when tire room is so dark that
others am neared) see ihc print. The most hardened sceptics in
itinc matters have been compelled to succumb when in the presence
of Mist Farther, 1

1 dnuild be the ftmt to admit that such tests ss that of the folded
ha in I Lei chief just described alfcird a very inadequate guarantee
against the practised idjpcntor, but when wr arc dealing with a
luUcL-rr, baldcltteti for twenty-seveti years, whose dneertty, patience,
charity, and simple religious laith ore commended by alii her most
intimate friends^ die case seem* to me to Lie very different from that
uf a professional medium who depends for a livelihood upon the
impression he produces on his dupes. Ever since gfeUiood Min
Fanchrr's rcmdiliori had betrn most pitiable, and her own statement
regarding the beginning of her illness in 1066 h ixjrnc out by the
evidence of her aunt and of the doctors.

Pe r two months [she says: after my trance commenced, fourteen
persona were in constant attendance on me. a relay of seven bring
required to hold up™ the bed during thespasms. My body and
limb, were drawn together until I was dmnjT a ball; then I leaped
forward like ait ur™, and would have l>rm killed but for the
protection of friend* ami the wadded olntruetion placed hi the
way. The** condition* continued until the fir^t week in May n f
lH&6 f whto I went into along trance 1

#■

Her fttmt’* ctmteidptirary dicuy cnrroliornies this, stating for
riunple, Els! ‘ F Ltl »f February i860: “ Her head and ket
ctmtint- together, die would roll like a hoop, shr would aha stand
(.n, her toe* and -pin like a top. Several penon* were required to
prevent her from John: penonal injury to ba^dC" These and

M F r W 5.1 : t'cTim™ Tljr mou conch live proof ij,ut M«Ok 4 «.<.

bciKptkmi wrte not mrnWijr in liy r ™-racja t!u- fcet rrrorded by her aunt
d‘-‘ dirriArt Hmr ■tanptv p>»«l Un hand over - hr cnml cS'hn JliS!'

1 hi thr AiMrffe N 11 , Xl. ufltr L'<..to U &-ikty far IVothual K«OJrch In 0*1
■ r ' r " ‘T "'^ 1 f f(l111 l>f Onaiiwr, in tl» .Yt* rwjt TVftw. ] n *lkkh hr ^
tn<n«n a Wfe** iti tbe lUpcntmuriL 1 bate t^Yer ^Ttrrln! Hn
All til- pan Of Motile ■■ 1 ajJ V ttci ^I 511011

1 P Jgi ilioulJ Ik that ibE reiiiiml brr thrnwv of u»c

t, tut ra!M nvihbg nr ihr nine vnin wliictl fully wed. Sr
Kcnn » luv- Imt imircnrate IB her ffftnim tai i!i C " fi m We -L . n vfTi - I!
hh ttr j&m week in Jimt. ■ ■ 11

(

niL iX&L Ui? MuLLtt FANO^B 311

similar eonvu&ivc spasms recurred ai frequent interval* dtawfc to
tbe time at which Dailey T s book whs compiled, in all, iwenly-seven
years. For anything tluti 1 have been able to learn to the contrary,,
they continued until hci death, w Inch, fiom a statement made in
BuiUtin \n, XI of the Bos roc Society fot Psychical Research, teems
h \ liave ' occurred not, as I previously supposed, before ryoo> ( In it
alter the beginning of the prtsrnl century. 1 What k certain h
that as lair ai April b, tfEfly, in ouv of her convulsive seizures*
\ Colli r Fane her fell <>m n f bed and severely injured the back of
her neck. Similar fulls hud recurred rntm\ nines previously when
she liud been left un.iticndrd. V b itnrifcadc had heen erected all
ftmnd to prevent her hurting herself h such, fircumsianco, but
cn this occasion it proved Ineffective,

These alarming spasms were particularly gable to recur at night,
and were often marked by ,t dissociation of [xrrsotiality. B-rid^
the normal Mollie i : ant her known to those who via ted her in the
daytime, her very' intimate friend4* and in particular ht-r aunt
were acquainted with no Jess than five after Mu Hie Fane hrn p vlu>
manifested themselves with varying frequency. One of them per-
5UU«1 for nine years 1 tS 66 to during w hat she w as accustomed

ln refer to as her “ great trance; 11 but when that crisis was over*
tills personality iirrvcr came to the surface apain, During the nine
years* period spoken nf, lief right arm was rigidly bent in such a
position that the hand VOM fixed over the hack of the head. She
had some control of the thumb and indr*; fin gray and in order to
do her work of Rower making, sewing, n r. p she hart to bring up
her left arm, of which she retained full use, 10 meet the righf hand
at the back of her head. The work which she learned to do in
that position, a* previously stated, was extraordinarily delicate and
minute. When, however, tins condition passed, dir remembered
absolutely nodiing of all that had happened to her during these
nine years, and the skill which she bad acquired in tier craftsman*
ship was as if it had never been. She had to begin, to team her
Rower work ah over again,

Flii* period of nine years, which remained to trie end a perfect
blank in her memory', began on Sunday, June 3, t&fib. Her
medical attendant, Dr, Spdr, visiting her that morning and
by way of excuse for .* rather hurried departure he remarked that
Jth wife was giving him 14 chicken-pol-pfe '* for dinner which would

Tit'- Aulho- rtl *hn pipiTT, who it. t ton jen ure, TV w FmgiEtnPriiiCTvitoj^
* tmdaH of I he English Society F-Jtr ftyiiuiLftl .Kr5rj.rdj, *r*iru iti have hem
un.iKlf to aicerum Ihe aid daw C*T ihe t iivurtiftanra of Mm Fancher‘* death

3ia The pimucAi. pjie-nokena qs itvsnciaa

be no good if n was allowed lo gel cold. When, nine years later,
after endless trance? and more convulsive seizures, the rigidity of
the right .inn suddenly relaxed, it was in some sense a new Mol]tr
who awoke to consciousness. On the appearance of Dr* Speir,
though he had never ceased to visit her in the interval. Mo Hie
asked him, “ Well, Doctor, were you in time for your 1 chicken*
pot-pie 1 ? 111 To her aunt she said: M Why, Aunt Susie* what tins
become of your red cheek- 1 ; ? You look so old and changed."
Her brother, who was a lad of thirteen at the time u the great
trance " came on, vmi immediately repelled by tier as being too
familiar for a stronger, Stic rcmendieted tiim a hoy; he was now
a in ill i wearing a moustache, She had kept 4 diary and written
thousands of letters with her left lumd daring the interval, but she
did not recognize the handwriting, and had some difficulty in re¬
covering the use of pen or pencil. 3

One of her most intimate friends during tliis later stage of her
suffering life, was a Mr. George Sargent, a manufacturer of invalid
furniture, with whom shr eniercd into a son of business partner¬
ship. He used to visit her quite kite and relieve her aunt m silling
up with her. In this way he liecame acquainted with Mollie's
different personalities, and, lo tiutiuginth them, christened them
by such rather absurd names as 11 Idol,” “ Rosebud/* " Pearl,"
etc. He has left an account of his personal experiences, dated!
July g, lEkj^t which Judge Dailey lias printed and from which 1
venture to quote. Mr. Sargent Lclli us, for example:

My hr>t acquaintance with “Idol/’ began April 8, 1886, Three
days previous to that date. Mis* Fjutthcr had accidentally fallen
from the bed, striking her head on the floor, which added injury
to injury, t aming umuuiad suffering.

On the evening mentioned her aunt Susie (Miss Crosby) and 1
were rilling by her ljcdsi.de, when Mia Fancher went into a trance.
While in this condition her aunt left the room. When she came
<nii of the trance 1 was alone with her, and was startled to sec her
eyes wide open, since I had never before seen her except with
closed eyes. She looked strangely at me and asked " Who are
you ? " as though it was an Impertinence for a stranger to be sitting

by her bedside, and at the same time asked, " Where »_. > ■■

naming a, person wholly unfamiliar to mr, and then naked about
a matter of w hich 1 was cmirrly ignorant. . . I ^y 4 u nonplux^cd.
and each moment added to my cemlimon. , , . j w«j trying to

1 \f~F, pp &4-6-

THE LIXJF. ow volui: fANCHE* 313

ttphiin my identity who) hrr aunt returned, She was almost as
surprised iii T, and site said it Wai three or four years since " thus
Mollie itad made an appearance.

Mr. Sa^rnt iw then fnrauUy inttttduccd, “ a, a friend of !he
other Mdlic, whereupon—

She made all sorts of inquiries concerning die other Mollie,
wanted to know if I would think as much of tills Mollie as I did
of the other Mollie. She sold nobody cared anything for her They
put off her questions and tried to get rid of her* * . . After a iUv
of about three quarters of an hour, she said: " I am very tired/*
arid with the saddest, sweetest expression on her free, and with
pleading arms outstretched towards her aunt Suae, she said, with
a voi«r of such pathos thm I shall nev er forget it* “ Hold me dose
kts my eye* down/' and in die twinkling of an eve her fciturei
became rigid ha sculptured marble.

After a lapse of some ten or fifteen minutes she returned to con-
semusnesw and the original Mollie again appeared on the scene
and seemed wholly ignorant ofyrhoi had happened*

From that date, fa t perhaps a year, the second Mollie came m
frequent, though irregular, inten.ih, and the length of her visits
increased. She seemed to Lave no note of time: [here were iki
yotoday or to-morrow in her calendar. When die came, it was
always through a trance condition, and usually accompanied by
itvere .pasms, and her exit was In j similar maimer, If the Lad
been talking at the rime of her departure on any nibjccl, on her
retunn 1 whether it happened 10 be an hour, a day or a week, she
would take up the thread of conversation where 4te dropped k if
the same people were present, 1

I be curious thing was that these personalities, learnuiir ftj thf*
course af conversation of each other's existence, were ant to be
very inquisitive ahem the character and doings of her whom jhev
were each disced m regard as .1 son of rival, Mr. Sargent came

« iS "?™ 60 I<n ° VV Uimi 3il ind r ° und ca s> r t» distinguish.

1 air! jeerned to reproduce the characteristic? of Miss Fandtec
at the age of sixteen, just before her Terrible Accftlmts, and her
memory covered all that she had experienced up to about TB65.
Her exp session find accent were tliote of a very properly broucht
up young lady of that period. *■ Her viriu,” we are tdd, “ woe
^ bnef - some times five, at Olliers ten 01 fifteen minu[«, and

3M T HE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OP MYSTICISM

sometimes only a minute. Then she makes her presence known
by the pressure of her fingers and holds no conversation at all/’*
There was nothing evil about any of these personalities, but they
were inclined to be jealous of *' Sunbeam,” the name given to the
normal Miss Fanchcr whom her friends knew in the daytime.

I soon found [writes Mr. Sargent] that when we told ** Idol "
of the numerous friends of *' Sunbeam," of her beautiful work
which wc showed her, she seemed to become exceedingly jealous,
and was sad that she had no friends, and that she could not do the
work that the othrr Mollie, *' Sunbeam," could do. She would
get hold of M Sunbeam’s ” work, and hide it away about the bed,
or in other places within her reach, and to prevent this," Sunbeam "
secretes it, or asks others to put the work away. " Idol " some¬
times unravels her crochet work.*

Undoubtedly the most attractive of all the personalities is that
which Mr. Sargent christened Rosebud." He gives the following
account ofhis first introduction to Mollie Fanchcr in that character.

One yeat after " Idol " came I first saw Rosebud." It was
the sweetest little child’s face, the voice and accent that of a little
child. She was apparently frightened, and was asking for her
mother. 1 inquired Who is this? Without answering she
asked me who 1 was. 1 asked her whom she knew. She said she
knew Spencer, who, 1 have since learned, was a friend and a little
boy acquaintance of Miss Fancher’s childhood. Miss Crosby told
me that “ Rosebud " came first right yean before, but only at
intervals. I began to strike up an acquaintance with her. She
asked me if I loved her ? I asked how old she was, and she said
'*yea” °W." I asked her if she went to school, and she said
'* ^cs, sir." She told me the names of her playmates. . , #
is a great mimic and can imitate Animals and fowls very nicely.
I asked her to sing for me and she sang " 1 want to be an angel ”
and other children’s songs.*

Let me here remark in passing that the “ Rosebud " personality
presents a remarkable analogy with the case of Anna Maria
C&streca, discussed above. This nun, at the age of twenty-seven,
suddenly put on the outward semblance of childhood, completely
forgetting all that she had previously learnt. The condition per¬
sisted for some months, and then as suddenly disappeared. She

* M. F., p. 79 - * M.F., pp. 7^-iv * Afjr, p. 78.

THE RASE Of MOtlJE FaXOHSB

3*5

(tad also before fJiU exhibited the phenomena of paralysis, k*t of
sight, inability U* take nourishment, c 3 *m?oyatice, and innumerable
convulsive seizures in which she wai violently thrown to the
ground. She was subsequently marked with the stigmata and diet!
as Ahh«s in tile odour of sanctity A.n, 173d,

A* MoUfrV personalities hardly ever emerged except at night,
we have, unfortunately, no medical report regarding them, but
Mr. Sargent and Mis Crosby are far from being ihe only witnesses.
Such ultimate friends as Dailey, the Townsends, Mr. Howard $,
Jonci and Lias wife, whose presener at late hours Mtw Panther m
no way resented, all give similar descriptiara. It is staled that
Mollir, Like Teresa Higginson/ never slept, but MalJir, also like
Teresa Higginron, wns subject to frequent trances, and she herself
was of opinion that the trances served her in place ofalrep,* What
is perhaps roost noteworthy in connection with these nam es j die
passage from what Dailey call* the ** rigid trance through the
''relaxed Trance” to noumil conditions. In these convulsive
strLuirts there must have been much that was pain till to look upon.
He wTiie^i

'Hir rigid rranec wit followed by a relaxed trance, then hy vitv
knl spasms cf the body, and the shaking of the bed and door; and
ihm Came swinging or the armi, the beating of the breast and The
top of the head with her fills, and the efforts to restrain her, and
final I v a reawakening to cotnekmsnres.

Again he describes how he himself witnessrd the relaxing of her
arms from their rigid eondiiinn which w-.ii, "the first evidence of
returning ctmscioLiuiea.”

Then cathc violent sp^sm* and twitching! of the limbs, then the
rapid swaying of her head from side to fide set in, followed by
moans a* of distie*, then die violently beat lie: breast mtr the
region of the heart wilh one fist and with the other hand attempted
to tear her hair and beat her head. These acts were restrained as

^ *ThB it Tct™ Hidipiiwn'i own lUtetneru — .it lour tEv write* (t 1874],
and now J teUdcun ikeji at all,” LajJy C«JJ Kett. Tmm ihsgUtm, p, ( %

M Anne Catherine Emnwneh aha *fcp 1 hardly at all, She d<dared to Data
lyi a P B thai (1 wai a taic dumr with her to *rt at much at am or two

wlin iltqi. Sec H llni pfnrr, iita drr Jfrr.-. 1 ,; i/irtiritakung (l yaq) t ji„ go.

* Cktanparc what Wexncx *nyi of Anns Cuhrriiir't varying rcoaisr conditions

I. V ” ! rraiurc wps UH Ul Ttt-ntm * ,r K timi ftffifnafi

tirith driq** ’I'Afthxeh, p. piH-

3*6 THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA Of MYTTIdSM

much as possible* but the violence of the spasms perceptibly shook
the floor.*

Supposing Mollic had been going through this <riu dt rurfs alone
behind a locked door, 1 ask myself what would have been the
impressions of some pious companion outside who had inherited
all the medurvaJ traditions as to the physical interference of the
demon with those who led lives of exceptional austerity. Teresa
Htgginson reported to her director in 1880:

Sometimes the Devil used to tlirow me completely out of bed,
throw things at me that were iu the room* and make awful noises]
and I used to be afraid at first that Miss Gallagher or the people
of the house would hear. . . . Whenever our dear good God
accepted my poor prayers and little nothings in behalf of poor
sinners, he, the Devil, used to be infuriated, and beat and drag and
almost choke me. . . . The Devil used to make me strike myself
as I have seen children playing with each other.*

So again we read, in connection with other experiences of the
same mystic, that " these strange illnesses were supernatural— TVr ^
was, in fact, in ecstasy, a condition which became very constant
at this time," and Miss Ryland is further quoted as saving: ** There
arc two ways iu which Teresa was taken. In one the body was
supple and she showed other excessive grief or excessive joy . In
the other the body was rigid and it was almost impossible to move
her. . . . Twice she was like that in the street.”* It would cer¬
tainly be presumptuous to deny that these seizures may have been
" supernatural," but remembering Teresa’s sickly childhood her
Dll into a saw-pit and her fall from a tree (” after which she was
ill for six or seven weeks ”), her persistent insomnia and abstention
from food, is it quite safe to affirm that her experiences were
specifically different from those of such an invalid as Mollic Pun¬
cher ? No doubt Teresa was not bedridden as Miss Fancher was
but Mm Fancher was just as busy so far as her mind and hamli
were concerned, and it is not obvious that the privation of the
powers of locomotion would greatly affect the conditions of these

VtttsrZiiP 5 *

in llic morning it vtnukl lx- hruuetl "

T™ "TT” laminar with

' r pvnniieu hrr chest to violently that

• Lady Ctdl Kerr, Tereu tfi&mjm, pp. fit-*,

• Tern* IfiamaM, p. 51.

THE CASE OF MOLUE TANCHEK 317

inexplicable seizures. The same Mm kyland who b responsible
for the above thus describes Teresa’s vision of the Passion:

She sees Him bound in file garden, stretches out her hands and
less to be bound iustcad. Blow on the right cheek by the mouth.
Blow on left eve. Heavy groans. A blow on mouth. Pulling of
beard. Holds her chin. Low cries of pain. Sickness. A blow
on the left side of the head. Beard is pulled, etc.

So, after contemplating the first fall under the Cross—

“ Oli Jesus let me raise Thee.” A blow on Use left cheek.
** Stand back.” A blow on the right cheek. , . . Five fearful
blows about the head and lace, one on the mouth. ” Oh, my
heart will break. . . .” Fearful fall. Colls out in pain. Seven
blows about head and face. One on the stomach.*

The blows here referred to are, of course, the blow* which
I cresa in her trance-state struck herself, with her own closed hands.
She seems exactly to have reproduced the self-inflicted injuries
with which the stigmatica Elizabeth of Herkcnrode, in the year
12 75 * punctuated her visions of the Passion,* and there arc numerous
similar examples. One is impelled to ask whether \vc have any
su ffic i ent guarantee that the noises heard in Miss Higginson's room
” as if someone gave her five heavy blows on the side of her head;
then as if she was taken and banged violently against the room
floor three or four times,”* were not simply due to some convulsive
seizure analogous to Mollie’s ” spasms ” ?

Again the whole question of Miss Fancher’s five personalities
seems to me a matter of considerable interest to the hagiographer.
The normal Mollie, ** Sunbeam,” was absolutely sincere in dis¬
avowing all knowledge of anything which had been either said or
done by Idol or 44 PcarJ.” It was the mere accident of her
helpless condition, entailing more or less continuous observation,
vvhich led to the existence of these dissociated personalities being
discovered at all. ” Pearl " might have eaten, or drunk, or stolen,
or lied, without ** Sunbeam ” having the least idea that anvtliing
of the sort had happened. In the case of Theresa Neumann we
know that she who answers questions while the ecstasies of the

* Iiid - PP- 73-5-

• See above, p. 126; and compare the case of the other atigmatica, Dotoenica
Mjr/in, who showered blows ujno her breast with interne violence to that the
none was past belief."

* Tttuo //i tfiniw , p. 159.

3*8 the physical phenomena of MYSTICISM

Passion arc in progress exhibits an intelligence of the most rudi¬
mentary kind, incapable even of counting numerals or of grappling
with any alntract idea. Can wc positively say that this is not a
new personality—the more so that die history of the case with iti
spinal injuries, six years immobility with paralysed members,
supervening blindness, inability to absorb nourishment, 1 clair¬
voyant knowledge, and sudden recoveries of faculties in abeyance,
exhibits striking analogies with the experiences of Mollic Fanchcr ?

When the phenomena of the lady last mentioned were being
discussed in the New York papers in 1878, a prominent American
neurologist, Dr. W. H. Hammond, in a letter to Tht Sun, remarked:
" TWf girl in Brooklyn is a Protestant; so she confines her virion
to seeing heaven and her dead friends. Were she a Catholic, she’d
sec tire Virgin Mary or the Saviour, like that girl at Lourdes."
lire oljservation is offensively worded, and the present writer for
one, aftri devotinga good deal of attention to the history of the
apparitions at the Grotto, would indignantly reject any attempt to
class St. Bernadette with the type of invalid wc huve here been
considering; but where neurotic symptoms are conspicuously in
evidence, it does not seem clear that the sarcasm of the New York
•cicnim is altogether devoid of foundation. If the thoughts of
such a patient were concentrated upon any particular class of
religious mysteries, these impressions would be likely to recur in
, visions or dreams appertaining to a state of trance.

Among die various articles which were published in the periodi¬
cal Etudti C&mUlitainet in April 1933 upon the phenomena of Theresa
Neumann, a contribution by P£re Lavaud, O.P., commented
incidentally upon tiie int&a of Mollic Fanchcr, which had been
not long since discussed in Tfo Month.' Whether PAre Lavaud
had himself seen what was written in those pages, or whether he
was speaking from some second-hand report, I am unable to say;

* It imni * angularly imncntiv* Out that There** Neumann, when m
j. abk to ncemnm entire Hau tn HnW Communion without difficulty TJUfa!
brr nurmol oaunoui ualr r*n only rwnUm# a tiny panicle. Tt

•Ser Thf Metuk, December. 1930, and January, 1931.

Tm CA*E GJ MOtJJE FAJfttrfcJt

3*9

but he reproved Dr-m Mager, G.S.B ., 1 for InttoducEng the name of
“ the fiiabng girl of Brooklyn " in such a connexion, and he declared
tEot there ii overwhelming evident r (JtiU Miss Km r her 7 fast was
Tar hum being absolute* Dom SEager m bit Paris conference had
made reference to the matter in iliac terms;

Konnersrtmh remains a problem &bo from another point of
sirsv, W htit accito mure than anything to hr established beyond
doubt is Theresa 1 ' complete fast. In 1927 a watch which was
maintained for a. fortnight confirmed the Iwltef that she neither
cat? nor drinks. It is true tlmi at present, speriulbt* are in*
dined to think that the watch then kepi was not sufficiently
strict. Moreover in modern dines a case of fasting has lwc» heard
«?l which even if it is not So absolute as that of Konnenivudi affords
miifTi r for ret lection. I frier to die co m of Mollic L’anchti at
Bro^kEyTi in (hr I niicd States which has been described and
appraised in Thr Month, the periodical of the English Jcsuits, Tfwr
.ldmji ihc possibility of so prolonged :i natural last tt ia not meon-
crivaUc that Tileresa Neumann’s fasr may find a more or less
natural explanation* However this may be, it would seem dnsiraEjIe
dial Tltctr-.i should accept dir inyiiuiion of the Bat arum bishops
;o undergo a fresh medical test.

Ii will t>c noticed that Dom Mager expressly detilairs that Miss
1 .Lin, hei a ftst was not <0 absolute as that of ICoimrnsreu'Lhi and
t:tii alto Vr.w made clear in my article* in 77 m Month, 1 quoted
Dr* Sprii, her moat tegular medical attendant, as my it ig in 1878;

E do not believe that any food—that is -sotirL — hits ever parsed
1 he woman's Upfi since her .mark of para!neb in 1S66], As for an
occasional texupoojiful of water or milk, I sortie dm o force her to
take it by using an iiuti umcni to pri^c open her tnouth. But
that ts painful to kcr* M

Bui Peie Lavatid appends a footnote to the remark ipiotcd
above at to the overwhelming proof that Mk Fandici ^ fast wa*
not absolute. It runs in these terms;

" regard to her being without food Dr. George Beard faid
that be had evidence unsought which showed that not only was she

J LJr.su %I, 3 profrpor or Ptiilwpbv ,-*f Sxbtiui^. h-.<J y£vcn 4 emjhi-

tjcluEt lb- button lifllti>ilir|uc of E J .irrs rrt January 33 , 1 * 533 * trc which h - m,T \',

judgment 11 ra ih- TUpcrmtiiral ehurw:i-ri*f Threwa’i pli™.ciirrui TMicvn-
P Ic ;“ B V 1 . i^™ L ‘ d+s etsfafy- tNiss, MAgtr'. rryundrr an aJJ printed '

3U Hm* htwi Om.iJliinrwT, pjf j\pnf 19.33,

3*° THE physical phenomena op mysticism

fating but she was living on the fat of the land." This is quoted
[in English] by de Hovre. See also the two artidrs of Dr. YVitry,
a psychotherapist at Metz, in Schilduacht, Nov. And 5 Dec., 1931.
The author shows how entirely the observation of the case was
devoid of any scientific diameter. If Theresa's fast had not been
better controlled and more solidly demonstrated no one would
trouble to enter into explanations; everyone would simply refuse
to credit it. It is strange to find Catholic writer* like Father
Thurston, S.Jwhom Dow Nlager here refers to, talcing these
marvellous statements on non-CaUiolic authority at their face value,
without criucixm, and on the other hand showing a hypercritical
rigour when there is question of phenomena duly observed and
attested in Catholic surroundings.

It is such a passage as this which makes me wonder whether
Pde Lavaud can himself have read the articles of mine which arc
here criticized- I have never expressed any doubt as to the
genuineness of llicrrsa Neumann's fast, or as to her stigmata. On
the contrary, 1 have on more than one occasion very dearly
affirmed rny belief in them. For example, in September 1931, I
wrote: ** There can be no thought of disputing the fact that the
fortnight's observation of Theresa Neumann has proved to the
satisfaction of all unprejudiced jiersons that she did not during
that period take dther food or drink."* And in Sludin for March
1029 I said, lor the last two year* nothing has passed her lips
save die partidc received in Holy Communion. There seems
absolutely no reason to doubt the fact of this iWia."* What I
have hesitated to accept is not the fast, but the inference that the
fast is miraculous. Neither have 1 denied that it may very well
be miraculous; 1 have only urged that with such cases as those of
Mollie Fancher and a number of others before our eyes, we shall
do well to suspend our judgment until medical science » in a
position to pronounce more positively upon the abnormal faculties
of paralytic subjects with complicated neuroses. P*rc Lavaud
objects that the observation of Mollie Fancher’s fast was devoid of
all scientific character. But so, most assuredly, was the observation
of the fast of all the previous stigmatks-^of Louise Lateau, of Anne
Catherine Emmerich, of Domenica Lazxari, of Marie-Juiie
Jahenny, not to speak of Sl Catherine of Siena and others in the
Middle Ages We luve much better evidence for Mollie Fancher’i

1 Tht A/cnfA, September, 1531, p. aao.

■ Stmdiu, Msrrh. 1939, pi 108.

MIL CMS OF MO M .IE FAffCIIL'R

3«i

lail p incomplete as it was, than we luivc for most of those just
mentioned.

Let me in proof of thb call attention to one or two point? which
must press themselves upon the notice of anyone who reviews the
circumstances of the Fhncher case wkh any care- We know that
$hc was bed-ridden for nearly thirty years. Details are ! ■ ■.:kjn*. fir
the period after judge Dailey's book was published in 1S94; and
it is not disputed that before this date she bad Scguit iu lukr a
little nourishment again and had partly recovered her sight. Ii b
certain, in any case, that for twenty*®* years she lived in unr room
upon die second floor of a house in Brooklyn, dint during practically
the whole of tliis period she was attended by two respected medical
men {who sometimes brought other doctors to see her) and that
they, not only in iflyfl, after the ill ness had lasted twelve years, but
again in 1B93, when ahe bad been a prisoner for iwenty-scycn
years, bath affirmed that foi at least twelve year’s together die had
lived " without sustenance enough to feed ,1 baby for a week. 1 '
If tt be objected that her doctors only visited her at intervals, we
have to remember that a paiiccu who was not only berhridden,
but who had one arm iu a tixed position above her head, and
whose legs 14 were drawn up backwards, the ankles bent over and
the Ijottom of the foot upwards/ 1 so that 11 her limbs could not be
straightened out," could nor possibh obtain food without aasittimee,
Moraaver, the very first point to which a doctor's attention would
inevitably be directed would be the question of natural relief.
Did anything pass, or could anything possibly pass without those
in attendance being aware of it ? For some years Mollic Panther ‘s
aunt, Mils Crosby, did everything for her niece, and during m few
months she kept a diary fmm which Judge Bailey quotes, and in
tliis occurs an entry; * Since die fith day nf .August > period of
three months) the natural functions for relief have not been exer¬
cised at all,"* If there were any indkatinn that during tliis early
period of her ilhars:-. Mollir FandLcr earned publicity, we micht
suppose that she had a confederate who had found means of hiding
inch matters from her aunt and from the doctors. But even .ip.ur
hum the tribute which all who knew her paid to her trutfifuJj i ■,
and sincerely religious character, there is not a hint of the likelihood
or even the possibility of sudt confederacy. Moreover, I should

^ 1 1 u curious tbii rfunitj tb? fhftiiip{fal doiinj which T^vcitii Nnumnn y/u
ffiMicr qbicr^Tirni rather nKin* than half a pint cf liquid purff) fir* CcfEjch,
Dtt Sttptoti*iiirTtt am KmxnrmjA, VoL t, pp, 133-4] in *p|(e of the Fact that A*
ncjih^r a5r rmr driill;.

TUX PHYSICAL FtlLNOMENA QF UYITICllM

3 ^

Professor SbhwtiQiy ridiculed the phenomena or Louise l A teau.
Boetu called her ** on unfortunate Chrisl-inaniuc " and an ” idiot,"
speaking abn of " the comedy which was played every Friday at
Bob tT Hainc, and which hav Ixren so completely nepced by die
disclosures of Prof, Schwann and of myself" Dr, Beard telp
somewhat less dvuoutleoih to his opponents than tlie Continental
rationalise hut he belonged lu the same school as Virchow and
Bbens* and I must own that I do not ill i nk his testimony of any
value in discrediting pretemormfil phenomena which he did not
even pretend to have studied, much les$ to have witnessed,

t do not for a mmem doubt that Dr. Beard had many letter*
written to him on lire subject. When the case began to be di»-
cussed in die newspaper, there arc bound to have been indignant
sceptics, who, finding themselves excluded, as all strangers were
excluded, from Mbs Fanchtr’s rick-room, were keen to accept any
hack-stairs gossip they could collect to her detriment, and retailed
it promptly to Dr T Beard. That is the son of tiling which always
happens. It happened in die case of Lembe Latfcm, it hap,'
in die case £>r Amie Catherine Emmerich, and what of Doctor*
Bandit and Blau in Teresa's own case ?* What La certain is that
Dr, Beard did not venture to produce this " evidence,'' He said
himself (hut it " could receive no cornideration. >f Moreover,
had not before him the multiplied lesiiinomm printed tixteen vear*
bter in tl*r DsriJey book. Even if they had been at hand, he
probably would not have trouhled to read them. The whole cLura
™ io him prqratensm. Bui I submit that the evidence supplied
In judge Dailey*! volume show? that Dr. Beard, in suggesting that
Mulhe Fancher " lived on the lat of the land * was simply talking
nonsense* ^

F-jre Lavaud, as notice! above, further complains that the
Observation of the Fancher case was devoid of any scientific charac¬
ter. But there b one example of a partial abstinence with regard
to which this cannot rightly be said. This wax the case of a
Bavarian girl, M*ric Fanner, who in 1835 after various illnesses
came to take a disgust for all solid food and eventuallv was said
to live entirely ors cold water." Assuming that die' breathed
common At and exhaled carbon-dioxide like everybody else one
wundera Where the earbett came from* Marie Funner wai a
devout Catholic, but it was never pretended that her Em had any

ss^c£sr*i tre “ ^

1 Dr, Bl.ty

Uf All

1 Iptlow, |i. Sj&L

5*5

THE CASE OF MOUJ£ FANCHEIl

idigicuis complrjfiL.’ti. It is noteworthy that when an attempt was
ntadc to induce Marie to submit to 4 second period of medical
supervision at Munich the sdf-respeet of the modest Catholic
peaMni at once took the alarm. She dcdtiFcd dint she would
rather die than allow herself to be watched, weighed, pulled about
atsd stated at by a crowd of strange men, 1 Probably Theresa
Neumann's alleged dislike of the idea of .1 period of observation in
it Rcgefislmrg KJihik is due to some muilur feeling.

' 1 fclcr 1t> Urn Kiini (ittier «.vf ibnarmil iihjfirieijtff in

Chapter xv.

CHAPTER XIV

MORE SEEING WITHOUT EYES

T HE case of Mollie Fanchcr, of wliich an account has Ixro
given in Chapter XIII, is not an isolated one. So far at
least as certain features are concerned we can appeal to
many parallels, and while some of these may reasonably fail to
convince because they arc insufficiently attested, others are based
upon evidence which offers no loophole for scepticism. At the
very time that Mollie Fanchcr, in Brooklyn, U.S.A., was astonish*
tng the small circle of friends who were admitted to her sick-room
by her accurate description of objects and colours which she had
no eyes to see, a certain Mrs. Croad in the West of England was
causing similar embarrassment to her medical attendants and to
quite a number of people acquainted with her history. Like Mbs
Fanchcr, Mrs. Croad, also, was a paralytic who had been bed¬
ridden for many yean. She was bom in 1840. Without very
much education or anv pretensions to gentility, she belonged to
respectable people who were in fairly comfortable circumstances
and were regular chapel-goers. We learn dial in her ’teens she
had fils which were possibly epileptic, but which do not seem to
have given occasion for any grave anxiety. She married at nine¬
teen, am! this union, with a mate or captain in the merchant
service, appears to have been a happy one. But not long after¬
wards site was subjected to a scries of mental and physical shocks,
which in the end contributed to bring about pathological conditions
of a very distressing kind. The trouble began with a very bad fall
in which it b said that the spine was injured, and which was
followed after a short interval by the recurrence of frequent epileptic
leisures. Then she lost her child, who by some accident was
scalded to death. Finally, she had a second bad fall down some
steps, the mischief being complicated bv the effort she made to
save an infant whom she happened to be canying in her aims at
the time. These distressing accidents occurred in 1864. and,
paralysis supervening, in 1866 she became bed-ridden, remaining
in this condition until j88o, when she removed to Bristol and came
under the observation of Dr. J. C. Davey. His medical description

•

MORE SEEING WITHOUT £YU

3*7

of the ease, published in the Journal of Psychological Medicine, runs
as follows:

In 1870, it is stated, Mrs, Croad became totally blind, in the
following year deaf, and in 1874 »pcechless. The paralysis which
was limited to the lower extremities, involved, in 1879, the upper
limbs; but at this time [he was writing early in 1881] the low of
sensation and motion is limited to the left arm, the fingers and
thumb of the left hand being but partially affected. The right
hand and arm have recovered their once-lost functions. She is
now able to articulate, though with difficulty, from, as it appears
to me, a tetanic rigidity of the temporal and masseter muscles, by
which the mouth is kept, to a large extent, fixed and closed. It
was in October last October 1880J that I was asked to see
Mrs. Croad. 1 found her sitting in a semi-recumbent position in
a small bedstead, her head and shoulders resting on pillows. The
eyelids were fast dosed, and the left arm and hand resting by
the side. The knees I found tlien, as they are still, bent at an
acute angle, the heels closely pressed to the under part of the
thighs. 1

In this, of course, there was nothing unusual. Similar cases
may be found by the score in every hospital for functional nervous
disorders. But from Swindon and other places where the patient
had resided since her invalid condition had become permanent,
urangc things were reported of Mrs. Croad’s abnormal powers of
perception in spite of her blindness and closed eyelids. It was this
whidi had interested Dr. Davcy in the case and which led to the
publication of this detailed report in a specialist journal of high
standing. The reader will, I trust, pardon a somewhat long
quotation. Dr. Davcy goes on:

Since October, and through the months of November and
December 1880, I have subjected Mrs. Croad to many and various
tciu with the view of satisfying myself as to the truth or otherwise
of the statements given to the world of her blindness, sense of
touch, and marvellous sympathies. To my near neighbours — Drs.
Andrews and Elliot—I am much indebted. The various tests
referred to were witnessed by them in my presence, and with the
effect of assuring us that site (Mrs. Croad) was and is enabled to
perceive, through the aid only of touch, the various objects, both

' Tki Jmnui Pvifvltgiaa MtJUi*, Vol. VIL, P*rt I. (April. 1881), p. 39.

THE THYSICAL PiUL?iGfc£>JA OF MYSTICISM

large nnd small, on any given card or photograph* After rm
experience extending over some nine or ten weeks* during which
the " torus” were many rimes repeated, and, now and then, in
tile presence of several medical and non-medical [ladies and gentle*
men) friend^ there remained (1 believe) not the least doubt of eMi
" transference of sense " from the eyes of Mrs. Groad to her fingers
and the palm of Iter right hand* It need not he -supposed that I
and other: were content i>» believe in Mis. Groad's himtlhess, and
to take no speedk pteceuaSo&s against any possible trick or decep¬
tion—far from ibis. On sulkftntiou, she very kindly absented to
be blind folded, after a very decided fashion; and m blindfolded
that neither deception on her part nor prejudice nor fabc judgment
on ours were—either die one or the other “possible. The blind*
folding was nccon^lished thus; a pad of cotton w ool being placed
on each orbit, the face wm then covered by a large and thickly*
folded neckerchief; this was tied wen rely ai the back part of the
hejd. and—even more than lim—marc cotton wool is as pushed
up towards the ryes* on either side of the now. N'ut con tent with
this, however, die aid uftwu fingered a bystander wo? requisi tinned,
and with (line ,i continued pressure w.is kept Vp t during thr
" testing/' outside and over five nedterddef and wind, and above
the doaei eva, At thii stage of the proceedings the room was, on
two different occasions, scry thoroughly darkened, Under such
ttrcuimmuctt it was die tearing commenced, and continued ia the
tnd; die result being, an theretofore, in the highest degree cotw
elusive and uiuTucteiry. File transference of sense from one organ
iu another as an acquired and spontaneaun condition of btinp must,
on die evidence here mid need, lie accepted a * a demonstrated and
i. retain fact* I would stale here, that on reming a picture card
or a photo from a bystander die (Mrs. Croud) plants it on a nd
about the dun or mouth, and perhaps draw* it .irrtv> ? . the forehead
but the minute examination of the card is, apparently, the work of
ihc fingen of the right SixucL These several acts are/fot the jnwt
part, followed by a quiet and intense thought, a well-marked
concentration of mind on the picture, or whatever it may lie, when,
after a short time, dir write-, on a slate kept near her a drscrlptioa—
sometimes a full arid detailed one—of the cud, lit colouring and
the several objects thereon* I have teen some forty or fife- pk\un>
onris and photograph* dbribed by Mrs, Cw ad at different rime*
v-iik various degrees of ate m icy during the whole period I have
known her, OccasioRallv her rapid And precise perception. Of if
you prefer the word, conception, of the picture, and of the tnAAy

MORE SEEIXCJ WHBOOS EYES

3*9

brn minute and trifling objects going to form its entirety* h really
startling. f have but seldom seen her wholly at fault* though she
lias met with her failures/

In another passage Dr, Davey reminds hib readers of the dis¬
abilities which at all times interfered with Ma Croad's me of the
natural organs m vision.

Bear in mind [he saysj that for a period of many year* her eye¬
lids have beef 1 penitently closed by, as it would seem, a spasmodic
or involuntary action of the muscular structures thereto attached,
in tie: there is nn aperture or apertures—miles* you make such by
your own act, t.r., unto you pull the eyelids apart 1

It is abo pditp worth while to point nut that the writer of this
report was nm a apiritualUl, nor apparently a believer in any sort
of supernatural ttVctHkm. If any one here," he write*—the
paper was originally read at a meeting of a learned society—
" expects me to discourse or speculate on die immaterial, the
metaphysical* he will be disappointed: for this single and sufficient
reason:, J believe in no thing of the: Idnd. As a materialini, 1 hold,
etc.", and he goes on to express views which arc hardly consistent
with the -texeptance of any doctrine of a future life. This certainly
adds weight to hh testimony as witness to phenomena bo abnormal.
Moreover, though hr does not dwell upon the more psychic aspect
of Mis.. L.road t abnormal peterpdons, Dr. Davey was evidently
not prepared to d i imres uiitencmoniously the stories current a* Jo
that lady's possession of strange knowledge which could hardly
have come to her through any w transference of *pedal sense/'*
for example he writes:

* further ilEustration of Mn, Cruad ' peculiar and clair¬
voyant gifts it should Ik stated that, at my second interview with
Ivor ami in the presence of fir. Andrews and others, certain of my
own pereonal and private convictions on a particular subject
beGamc J as it would seem, in a strange and exceptional maimer,
known to Mrs, Craad. She asked me if I would allow her to lell
me a secre t of my own life-Instory, and would l be offended if she
wrote j» on her slate. 1 replied, 11 \o.‘" That writicn on the slate

1 ? p . 59-***,

4+.

f 0/Sprang Same u lia liilt which. Hi. Daily prefzud t* tui jjiprr.

TtUL PJlY.NiCAL PHENOMENA OF MVSTlIZttit

330

was and h a fact, than which nothing could or can be more truthful
aiul to the point- Dr, Andrews k prepared to verify ^corroborate]
this; the others present on this occasion were but little known to
me- 1

Although Dr. Davey's statrmrnl, supported as it & by his jppe.il
to the personal experience Of mhrr medical men who assisted him
in Ids investigation of the cast, seems to me thoroughly convincing*
it skuuid be pointed out that it does not stand alone. At the d"T »
when he was writing, a short biographical sketch of Mrs, Croad
was already in print, the work of an acquaintance of lien who war
apparently a Nonoonfcinnist Minister. This gentleman, a Mr.
J- G. Westlake* evidently entertained a deep regard for Mrs,
Croad's high religious character and was also impressed by the
^i -Ltigc factories of which he had had ampler evidence in the course
of his hciri course With her. She had at one time been for some
months the guest of himself and Ids wife, and he had no doubt
had Special opportunities of learning die facu of her history* He
called his little book A Service of Spiring, and when the tint issue
was sold out, he prepared another edition fo i&Ba in a somewhat
enlarged form. When Mr. Westlake mooted the idea or writing
some such account, he tells us tltai the invalid raised objections
on the score ot ihe publicity likely to be entailed. " 1 would ask
vmi/' she wrote to him, 41 ihh io bring mv name before others;
not that 3 am ashamed, but I have a great dislike to be talked
about, * * ■ You are quite welcome to tell* far and near, of the
great fove of my God to me a sinner, only do not give my name."*
It was inevitable, especially in a small country- tawa—klt% Crcuid
was at Swindon at the time-that the strange EacuUira she ua*
«ssed should be .* good deal talked about locally, but, if we may
trust die statements of Mr. Westlake and others* she wn* a sincerely
g.Dod woman with 3 deep sense of the supernatural. One day the
well-known writer of religious verse, Mia Frances Havered was
taken to ptlfe Oread. The invalid wn* a( that time quiie
unable to articulate, but m the count of the visit she wrote u«m
the date these words: " I dunk I just begin to see the mltndmrr
Of God's Witt” Some HtUo -hn- dWwSxl* Mkt HavS«^t
her a poem Att which this utterance served as a text It is much
too long to quote entire* but tbde two Hamas give a fair imprmiuu
of its drift! 1

* ibtii .. p 4 +

■ J l.) U fMlskf, i i*; t-v irj fqflbnut . p. ^

utop», wrmgtrr eVei

For lirrr Grid's will wni suffering
Just Waiting lying: still:

Days passing on in weariness,

Ln shadows deep and chill:

And yet she had begun to see
The iplenduur of God's will.

-i m m m m * -

A splendour that is diming
Upon His children’* way,

Thai guides the willing footstep*

That do not warn to sit ay „

And leads them ever onward
Unto die perfect day.

It cannot be claimed for Mr. Westlake’s booklet that it is In any
way critical, It is not written as a scientific discu&fion of prettr-
nurcrud psychological facts. Bor it shows phimEy enough that Mrs.
Croad’i remarkable perceptions did make a very profound impres¬
sion upon those who lived in her company. Betides bearing out
Di Davey’s testimony as tip her power of describing pici tires and
colours without the use of normal sight, he queues several remark¬
able iniiianew of her knowledge or wluti was inking place beyond
her room. Some of these were mailers of observation; othrtv are
haied only upon her own statement. Tlir value we Attach to them
must depend upon 01m opinion of her truthfulness* Here Ls one
example «rthe latter class. Mr. Westlake writes;

Mrs. Croad lias frequent!', told me that she has had communica¬
tions from departed friends* and also from uLiters still living, at
times when they have Lrei] in peculiar peril. She tells me that at
the time she was living with her grand parents, while her father
was at sea, his life was more than once in jeopardy kom shipwreck,
hut on each occasion, though hundreds of mues away, she saw what
iva* transpiring and informed his father and mother; and that
when they' next heard from him, they' found that what she hud
described tq them was substantially true, She also says that soon
after they were married she and her Imdiand agreed with each
other that the one that died first should rouuminicatr the fact in
some intelligible way to the other; and that at the moment witen
he fell semdeis on the deck of the v«&d, he .tp^irnl in the nimt
unmistakable manner to her and vud 4J Good-bye, Carrie. 1 am
going.” She was so certain he wo* dead that ihc i&M her friends t
at Bradinq what she had jecn, and although they did nut place

3ja rElt FRUGAL PHE.VCrttE.VA Of *fV5TTCira

much confidence in her stateroom, they- took note of the exact
time, and in a Tew weeks after, when the news came, they found
that, making allowance for thr diTerence of longitude, the time of
his ijeaLh coincided exactly with his appearance to her. 1

This u t of course, it relatively common type of experience of
which countless example* have been collected by Messrs, Gurney
and Myers, 1 and by Mrs* Sidgwick, but the familiarity of stories
of this kind rather strengthen! the case for Mr*, CroadV veracity.
All this happened and was in print before the Society for Psychical
Research had ever begun its work. Mr. Westlake'* own personal
observation of Mrs, Croad's powers seems to have been rather
vague, but this is ilte son of thing he fcelii m;

She would frequently, while living with us, that her room
should be put in orefer f a s all t expected visitor* to lee her Shortly,
and this, possibly, when she had not had anyone to see her hr
*ome days* nor had any apparent reason to expect that an-
was coming; we found her uniformly correct In her tiTipresaiom.

. . . Recently, when she was living at Swindon, Mr. Harris went
tom Redhuid to see her; he had not seen her for live weeks nor
hut she any intimation of hi* Intended visit. Early in the mn^nltja
she asked her daughter to put the roam straight, as she expected
Mr, J Ixnis would mil hi the course of the day. When he arrived
about mid-day, she Wrote on her slate I have been exacting
yum/ 1 *

Dr. Dovey Winsrir hod some similar etperieneo when hk patieni
W.T5 living near Bristol, fol tie reconk in the anielc previously
referred to: '

l[ is said dsn by those near and dear to her ilia, ,uch » Mr,
& ® d ' 1 prevision thai «hc has been known to foeeieli my owii
vaiu to her; what I mean k, dial on my approach to the house
din occupla and when at a distance from U, Mid unseen by anyone
aboul hrr m fiwl m will,in sight—she has said, •• Dr Dayev k
cooling; he will be here directly.***

It is curious in find Si. Augustine of Hippo hurataa

year, ago de^rdang a sninlar case of which apparently he had

1 .1 p, 19

J In tin - 1<K»k PiMiFfurnti -if tJir fannjf.

* J. G. Waiiakr, A Stmct mri Ed it iBfev __

+ Jfibntf tf Pq>dioippt«i Mtdkwu. ji. |i, ' P- J

HOKE VEJL1NO WnntgLT EVE*

333

personal knowledge, f le calls his invalid " possessed/' and nny*
11.at he 3 poke in a kind of a dettrium, but the visitor v.btisc arrival
die sufferer looked for with so much impatience was a priest, and
from his sick bed the man described accurately even, stage of the
priesfa journey from the moment he started until the moment he
knocked at the door of thr house. 1 Ii would seem that St. Augus¬
tine had nn better reason for supposing that this sufferer was die
victim of dhboltral possession than the simple fact ihat he had
convulsive seizure* and pressed an inexplicable knowledge of the
movements of die hi end upon whom his whole drought centred.
A dmffar strange feltpathk bond ^eejuv Up hove cxjji'il between
Hltrscd Marie d'OIgnies and hrr devoted " preachnr," James de
Vi try, afterwards Cardinal. But in the fifth century, ,u in the
thirteenth, all uervona disorders pirwiiting features which seemed
to transcend normal experience were apt to be attributed cither to
dinboheal possession, or to a supernatural cause.

There scenu to be no doubt that Mrs. Crowd’s hdplcii condition
was attended with much physical suffering which the bore with
exemplary patience, Mr. Westlake writes:

Mrs, Croud is a gicMt sufferer from convulsive fits. As the fit
coma on, she is .ieLzed with severe shaking* till she becomes rigid
and unconscious, Mv wife with others stayed with her ah night in
one of there attacks. A fit lasted so long that they thought her
dead and were preparing to lay her out; but offer waiting a while,
iiid administering a stimulant, they were thankful to we her
revive. Since (lien die has had :o many and such severe attacks,
that it really seems incredible that any human being could endure
so mucin I often chink that, physically, she U maintained in a
miraculous manner,, especially when 1 sec bow little food she takes.
In the month of December lust, for three weeks, she did not lake
nourishment equal to half a pint of mill:,*

This last statement k peculiarly Interesting in view of the rejec-
tirm of nearly ait food which, as 1 have previously pointed out.
characterises not only the case of Mo!lie Fancher, but those of
Teresa Higghtscm, Anne Catherine Emmerich, Domejiica Lanark
Louise Lattuu, and 'Theresa Neumann at the present day. Dr.
Davcy does nut neem to have attempted to study this feature of
Mrs, CjD ad's nervous condition, blit he was not altogether ignorant

1 See D-t tmfji ...J tflpiBn, *ii IT fMiipic, P.L. n.tiiv.j, e. 46&J.

1 A Srrvk* tj p. 3a,

THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF MYSTICISM

334

of it and docs not seem to have discredited it, for in his summary
account of the earlier history of die case before it came under his
observation, he remarks! She became at length powerless or
paralytic; whilst as a consequence attendant on a chronic gastric
affection she is said to have ' lost all power to partake of or digest
solid food 'S ' 1

1 have directed attention more limn once in these pages to the
hook of Dr. Haddock, Svmnvlijrn and Psichfiim {sit), lu which he gives
an account of the remarkable faculty possessed by his illiterate
wnvant Emma of describing pictures without die use of her eyes. 1
Site held them over the top of her head, felt them with her fingers
and was dicn able to tell what they represented and to indicate the
colours. The tests applied seem to have been of a very effective
kind, and success was attained even when no one present knew
am tiling of the subject rtf the particular picture submitted to her,
thus excluding the possibility of mere telepathy from the mind of
a bystander. It is true that Emma, when milking these experi*
ments, was first put into a hypnotic trance, but the faculty she
possessed in dial condition seems to have been the exact counter-
pan of what is recorded of MolUc Fanchcr and Mrs. Croad, both
of whom were afflicted with complicated neuroses.

But Ini fear anyone should suppose that such abnormal powers
are only heard ofin heretical countries, where diabolical influences
might l»c conceived to enjoy an exceptional range of activity, let
us take a case from Italy. It is recorded by no less an authority
than the late Professor Cesare Lombroto, the famous neuropath
and criminologist, as a psychological marvel which had developed
under his own eyes. He himself tells us that tills experience, which
came to him at the age of forty-six, was the first shock to the
irtolute materialism in which all his early life was passed It led
him in the end to »o much belief in the spiritual nature of man as
{Krtlulatr* survival after death, though the revelation he accepted
" os unfortunately that of the seance room, not dial of Catholic
tmdltkm. Anyway, in the opening sentences of his latest published
work, 1 Lumbroso remarks:

If ever there wu tmvone in Urn world who by hii scientific

‘ Journal tf PQtlulifUal Mtdicim, it., p. 3a

■Joseph W. Haddock, M.D., Mr and Ptyduim land Ed

pp. 97-103.

London. 1831),

•Hurrtht jui r-nttmam Ip*An 0 Torino. toon, rv.

1 October 1909." Lombroto dird wddmlv on October 19U tfSj

J vi

mors Seels 1 £i without £Ve«

training and bv ft son of instinct was resolutely opposed to Spin*
tisrn, 1 was that man \ for oui of the principle that all force was
merely a property of matter, and that the soul was an emanation
of the brain, [ had created for myself the tine of study which was
to be my life's work* To think that I, of all men, who for so mimy
years had laughed at the very idten of spirits, and tabteduriiing and
s^anecs, should come to believe what I now believe !

But if I have always been enthusiastically loyal to die banner of
Science, I hast had n:ir jiitsskm which is even stronger trill—a
veneration for truth, a resolve to be content with nothing short of
die evidence of ascertainrd farts*

Nowy in the year 168a, I, wbb had been so bitter an enemy to
Spiritism that for year* together t would not touch it, or be present
at any experiment of the kind, was, in the course of my professional
dutiea as a neuropathologist, brought into contact with certain
remarkable payctne phenomena of which science could give rto
account except to note the circumstance that the subject* concerned
were ail either hysterical or hypnotised.

I lie firxt experience* which h the must to our purpose* is des¬
cribed by Lomhi too as a " transference of sense fierce p tig us, 1 ' and
is recounted follows;

Chie morning in iftSit l was sent for to the bethide of the Sig¬
nor j dq C.S.j aged fourteen, the daughter of one of the must active
and capable of our Italian public men. The mother was sane,
inteliiarcni ami healthy, but her two sons at ihcagt of about twelve
or fourteen had ahqt up in height in, an extraordinary way and
seemed to show phthisical symptoms* The girl herself* , * had just
previously grown seven indies within a very short space of lime
and bad developed serious gastric troubles of hysterical origin
(vomiting, dyspepsia, etc.), sa nmeh so that fur one month the had
been able to take nothing but solid food,, ami then for another
month nothing but liquids* while during a third month she had
developed attacks of hysterical convulsive spa?cm with hypet**-
ihesiu c no pronounced iku if a diread were Laid upon her liand she
declared it fdi .vs heavy as a bar of iron. 1

After the occurrence of another monthly period she became
blind, white hysterogenic [ircsuite points were noted in the little

1 hi tire Cm* of iliMtipniliri liMtiasit* Luuri ihrs liypmuhaui icuhd
*ft cttr^ardinarji- pircb. A muU fragment of sugar rawed vnrnrtiiig to violent
l—s.1 she chuted. and the tfndl i/Ta ptete nJ Ttuut produced su*_(l Lif^rt *

thai the fiunLcii jw&y* See p.

33*> tri physical phenomena op mysticism

finger and in the forefinger. When these were touched they pro¬
duced convulsions. There were also motor parcset [nttacks of
imperfect paralysis] in the legs, with exaggerated reflexes and
spasms, while her muscular energy wa* enormously increased, so
much that, measured by a dynamometer, the force of her hand¬
clasp augmented from 32 to 47 kilograms.

And at this point extraordinary phenomena liegan to present
themselves. First there was a somnambulistic condition in which
she showed an amazing activity in work aliout the house, a very
sfffctiGnate disposition towards the whole family and a conspicuous
musical taient; at a later stage there was a change of character;
she developed a masculine boldness and a lack of moral principle.
But the most remarkable fact was this, that while she tost the power
of seeing with her eyes, she saw, as dearly as before, with the tip of
her nose and the lobe of her Irfi ear. By these improvised organs,
though I had bandaged her eyes, she read a letter which had just
then come to rnc by post and die was able to distinguish the figures
on the dial of a dynamometer.

Very curious was her realization in gesture of the function of
these new substitutes which took the place of ey es. If, for example,

I put my finger dose to her nose or to her car making pretence to
touch them, or still better if I only directed a beam oflight upon
either, even u it were but for a moment or two, she manifested
instant sensibility and irritation. “ You want to blind me,” the
cried out. Then with an instinctive movement as uuforesecn its
the phenomenon itself, she put her arm in the way to protect the
lobe of die ear or the up of her nose and remained in that position
for some minutes.

. ™ crc W “ * 50 a lra ^ creT1 « of the sense of smell.

While ammonia and assafetitla if they were thrust under her nose
provoked not the least reaction, even a slightly microns substance
placed beneath her chin produced a lively impression which mani¬
fested itself m expressive gesture. If the Kent was an agreeable
one, she smiled, her eyxlids fluttered and she inhaled rapid breaths.
If the odour w a8 nauseous she pm up her hands to that part

of the chin which had become sensitive and shook her head
violently.

Later on her tertsc of smell war transferred to the instep, of her

feet, and then when any odour was unpleasant to her, site kicked

'''‘ 11 hc ' r «t *° left and nght with contortions of her whole

• a a • Wh f ’!’ C e T y '? > “ m * he *'°«i quite still, smiling
and drawing her breath quickly.

HOKE SEEING WITHOUT EVES

337

Deferring any comment upon this statement, t propose to call
attention to one final example of the same kind of sense transfers tier,
which wai reported in 1840 by Professor' Cuirmagnola. It is
referred to, along with several others, by Ijcmbrow, but I have
been able to consult Canmgmattt's own account of the maiter
which i* printed in die GwtmU drtii Scimz? Afrtiirht for the year
mentioned, 1 CtiEiskkratitJtis of space must restrain rnr fmm going
into modi detail, but I may note that the Prefenrir’s tint {senfenos
show him to have been a lm ost as much *1 fu lled by what he will r->-<- £ |
as Lombroso was by Ida experiences with the % norma CS. He
tells hb readers that lie is going to describe a wtries or Ciei* which
had come under his own observation, but hr- adds that lie himself,
if he hud merely heard these recounted by someone else, would
have dismissed the whole as a cock-and-bull Kory unwords v of
serious attention. While uuiiblc to offer any sort of srirmitic
explanation, he protests that he held it hb duty to be sternly and
strictly truthful in hit statement of what be had witnessed.

Like die rase last referred to. this also was concerned with a
young girl of thirteen or fourteen, ami litre again the starting point
oi the subset pirnl harassing tfrvelofltttenti must hr looked Tor in
the physiological condition* attendant on the approach ol woman-
hood. The trouble began with n ncrvcnlt cough which came on
whenever (hr child attempted to eat or drink and which was so
persistent that for three months she could hardly take nourishment
of any kind- I hen followed exaggerated hypctaathrri.i* and all
sorts of neurotic troubles, In her normal waking condition -lie
became speech has, but while asleep and dreaming die spoke fto-Jv
recounting past adventures with great animation, and tinging, with
perfect accuracy as to worth and music, the aim of the operas thro,
in vogue. s Upon this sirpcrvcnrd a state of constantly recurring
somnambulism, alternating with caud* pile trnnee*. The deiaib
arc curious, but I must content myself with noting that at this suge
of het illness. while die v.iv absolutely deaf ,md blind, so fur as
concerned the special organs of ihew two sense*, she could hear
with her shoulders—or, more strict! 1 /, her shmilder-bLidn —

am i sec with her hands. In her samtiambulhms the rireae I her-
self, moved about and performed all ioru of little domestic: tasks

1 Ghnolt dttft MiJ ita, Vel IX.. pp. loj-ya Titnnq.

1 f>Urrc is 11 turkrtis pttaBd [«till* udsini; m wh*l i » ill tlhe lnid'mtng

« *■** mnwoib of ihe RaDtifc NUrie d’Oi^ri Sec brr 1J:- in the

• '‘.J *««■ , Vu h IV. t r>. q 3 , In hc f tUUWe siate juU bt-JW l,rr ,(»& tkr urt*
cDtilimHwiUV' *“? llitte tijji. St. £ ojficw of Romt hi tvuaiy oUiiJiitr.i 4 liilxilur
phenomenon.

33® ri£ E PilVJUtAL WlEK&HtM'A Of HY3tTCrS\l

m t]cr rfl0Btt » without ever fcnoclurty agitiiiij any obstacle*. She
conversed irmly, and when *hown pretty coEmiixd ribbons and
oiher things she would disdnminafr die colours with perfect
accuracy, and yet all the time the pupil* ©Mirr eyt* were completely
turned up and only tilt lower portioo of the m'I erotic wa> visible
She went about holding the palm, of her hand* o } *n brlhrr W h
assd it soon became clear that these in her somtuimbuLim condition
served her as organs of sight. Professor CammgnoU** statement
SB justification of this conclusion is interesting :

T took [he soys; User fust book that I chanced to pick up; it was
* TitfrrWftit. 1 opened it at random and put it under her

extended hands They were not in contact with the book but
remained at a dmunce oTtialf ait inch or h> from the printed page.
In that position she read LLie (ext correctly and rapidly. 1 put die
book in a different position and die went un reading as brlore. It
was night time and I held a candle near n lWE if what site read
aloud correfpoutkd accurately with the printed text. Thr trail-
mg. I found, was quite correct, Hum I moved the ramllc away to
JWcerta, J i{ * hr dependent upon the light it gave but die went
t>n reading quite evenly and without stumbling Her mother
WIOlc tllt3e ™ lU nn :i of paper Wrf«, im d .,jjc

not only rejul the worth with tier bands but she recognise,! dint it
was her mother's writing, She wanted to look at herself iii the
glajs Slid so ■hr .piead out her hands its front of rise minor, but
shr onrv taw her hand:: th™ ,|„. Utwcred them to ** her face
bl,t apparently saw nothing at .ill, then by ,i -on of uutiriet slv-
pm tip her hand, oner more, and again die aw ,.nly her baud.'
so die pm one in front t.r the other, but with no bitter soccer.
Htully the lost her temper, stamped on die flour, tore off her cap
from her hriid and hastily ! icai a retrt-aL 1

-v, 1 , 1 , ' ^ ,lw T ada ‘ ‘bat die two Italian

di dren an sputa; d! Were die victim, of diabolical posse sim,.
The contention might seem to lie .attained by the fact it,at Lum-
brams patient made uncanny hut ace urate prophecies as to

the future course of her dlnen= and rectum,.ended strange remedies
'ft.Wr, Vo}. IX. p i jJ.

* Hi* HfiiumUc of mrail rrt fitr faculty , j- ,■ ■ * a. _ +.

frw lenity moon* ilu? Celtic r ac «, u Hi mi iJ&L* 1 5 “V • mor *

(h-51 nicniliir peth^n uut be di-kTkpd urnErt h.™ ,, . tra . v;tH * IJt IV RiflfUK
■ AViilrtJbfrr nunditiani ? '!>pr uift -| moniiN-t "cotta!" I iuni "

and theyofteufwetell what I. p™* loppm'»

MORS srmwti wrrjjoirr tvr ■

339

for the alleviation of her ut tucks. which in fact were employed with
some measure of success. I -i mils of spjj-r pre. lude ntr from -living
detail,, though one very curious feature mriy be mentioned. On
June 15?h f dir Signori na, G.S> foicttdd that nn July mid a spell of
delirium would supervene, to be followed by severe cataleptic
wrizurci 11 which would be cured by gold/" In paint of fuel the
attacks occurred as predicted and the suggested remedy proved
efficacious both then .nod on another exevtsion. One rubs one’s
ejw (Kid wonders whether front the year iQ®o, the epoch of Huxley
and Tyndall and Virchow and Haeckel, we liave suddenly been
transported hack into the MkidJe Ages, for it was tie internal
admit lustration of die chloride of gold which was dim indicated bul
a Minple uirface con tact vyiili the raw metal, i say iJiis because
Pete tin. in his Electticiti Animalg (iBofl), liad spoken, of the me of
this remedy in the treatment of s imilar ucuioses, and because
Professor Carmagnob's patient in 1B4U was so immensely relieved
by clu tching a piece of gold that she went hunting everywhere for
more gold, md finding an object of gill bronze, mistook it for real
gobI and thought she had discovered a treasure. But while she
ivaf sensibly reliever,! by the genuine metal, Lhr bronze proved (if
no use 41 lilt. 1 * it coned Vnblc that gold, .liter all, dors generate
some form of radio-activity to which pecidiarly-ccmditionod persons
arc intsidvr ? What is certain is that many waler-diviner*. the
reality of whose strange gtfi can hardly now be contested, am u l*o
convinced that metals may he detected in a precisely rimilar way
by 1 he Influence they exercise, even at a distance, upon die nervous
tension of the adequately disposed subject.

So far, however, as regards the question of diabolical possession,
the cases of Miss Panther, Mr*. Groad, and thr Italian girls must
surely all hang together, We have comparatively full kuoultxlge
of thr life history of the two former, who were bed-ridden for
twenty or thirty years, and in whose rase there is not a trace of
anythin if evil, but on the contrary every presumption of a moil
udnurafolc spirit of Christian resignation, if the neuroses of die
two other patients rannot be traced to any such terrible physical
accidents ai befell Mias Fanehcr and Mi*, Croad, Professors
Lombmuo and Carxnagnola nan to I Live been wiiilied that there
was no sudden Invasion of any malign influence from outside.

ihrir death- At on liEustr^dmi I may refer la ihe nr^hi iif.m of dx sljjimaliste
Marie-Jtdie Jahomy, irnuJr a month prrvi(MiiJy Anti frmne Ihan oner repelled,
mat tm a Cnlain day OH CtpOiaiil nnq foim upon he* fbgrr. Ttiii anuiJly

t®k (jriec In die pfoascr of wi iniw i wpiritilftl fw i]^ jiarpo*? LtJbrdutnd

34*

■

!,i£ physical r-rreNOucNA of ifVJncma

Tl l f condition had developed slowly by well-marked stages

To Z r *?™ lcd ™ h 1115 Physiological change belonging
' P sk,r ''y ^ n l4, y this imrul'crcnce of special
*cwe scorn to conmtulr a f*tout problem for those who would

° a } itK oi between die merely

abnormal and the miraculous or supernatural,

CHAPTER XV

THE MYSTIC AS HUNGER-STRIKER

T HE quotient fom long n man can live without food has
heen much debated uf later by all sorts of writers and he
a]f sorts or context*. It ts obvious that the answer hi
every ease must depend very largely upon what kind of man we
art thinking of. It depends, in other words, upon how he j*
constituted, not only physkally, but also morally and psychically.
E may confess that I am not yet quite convinced that in the course
of nature everyone must die who deprives hittudf oH»th solid
and liquid nourishment for more thao a few weeks. No doubt, if
we are talking of the ordinary course of nature, the rule that a man
must cat to live is true enough. But there seem to be exceptions,
and it ik not quite dear to me that these captions can only lie
explained by assuming the intervention of the supernal ur-d.

Speaking from general impressions, one would he tempted to
aETum ilint alt the more conspicuous and protracted case* of
ubstmencr from food (total tntdia) are m be found among die ranks
of the Catholic myjttf s* Whether ihh is so exclusively the case M
is commonly supp-aed will appear further on in the next chapter
but there can be no question that the of die Saint* assuming
for the moment that their data are rdkblij, present us with many
most astounding examples of unbroken Bwli. h K .dieted that
St. Lidwrna (f i433) ate nothin* for Cwwuv-dghl vear* rhr
m , Domcwca dal Parade (* 1553' for twenty year,;
Bfessal Nicholas von Flfle ff 1487) for nineteen yean; Blessed
piintn-th von Rcute (f ifJO} for fifteen years, and so on; while
m modem limes a twelve yeaiV abstinence from food falwavi, of
course, excepting die consecrated Host received in Holv Qun-
mumon) was observed in the care of both Xfcmetuca Lazsirl
f 1 184®) and Louise Lateau f{ 1883;.

Of Domcmea Lazzart a good deal hz* already been said in the
chapter cm stigmatization, l)r. Dcj Cloche, whore medical report
of the case was there largely quoted from, seems to have had no

34 * the PirwntiAt phenomena of uvmttsai

misgivings as io the fact of Dome jura 1 ? total abstention from food*
and the pwnif l) apparently true of the Gs-mum doctors whotn
Loni Shrewsbury and Mr. Allies and liii friends found to be
studying the phenomena at a very much later date. Ti Is note^
worthy that Domcnica was absolutely bedridden* and any eom-
nambulisiic tendencies could hardly have escaped the attention of
her sister who lived with her. Of course it is pouible that an
hysterical patient who turns away with loathing from all food
during the day may prowl about at night in a somnolent state and
satisfy unconsciously her dormant physical craving. Such a thing
miglit (jo on undetected for a mouth, or even several months, but
hardly for thirteen yean, Moreover, one cannot but Lie impresed
by the analogous features present in other similar medieval cases
which it would violate all probability to suppose that Domcuicj
had ever heard of. One of the mom remarkable: mystical <|oi..i -
mrnla of the early thirteentli century la the life or Blessed Maty
of Oignits by Cardinal Jacques do Vitry, an unusually intelligent
,in I conscientious observer, who knew her intimately. In perfect
acconl wsih the physical repulsion for food wliich was so coit-
lpkiima in Oomenlca Lazzari 1 and Louise Latenu. wc read of
Mary of Oigoictr

On one occasion itir went tor u long as thirty-five Hays without
any suit of food, passing all the tunc in .i tranquil and happy
silence. , . SEie would say nothing far many days hut 11 Give
me the Body of our X^Jid Jesus Christ," and a* iwon as her request
was granted she returned to hrr former silent converse with her
hit', tour, . , „ At length, after live weeks, returning to bench, to
ihc wonder of those who were present, she began to speak and to
lake food. But for a long time afterwards she could not in any
w,_. 1“ 1.1 lure even die lined of meat, or of anything cooked, nor uf
wiue, -mil -■■ ;t w; an ilihidon after the Blessed Sacrament, which
was sometimes given her. in which case she minded neither the
smell nor the tAjur . 3

And again, rrfrrring to a period at the end oF her life when
Jacques de Vary was himself undoubtedly With her:

During her illness she was able to eat absolutely nothing, nor
I .he wen mtlurr the m.dl of bread; yet notwiilistatidinj
i?Fr wliii l Isayr previously quoted ,m r P
VtrUni A midi! r^fUKTif of fUC*r pktrtj upon Ixrx uittnu the it of
woutuur w« » ™ieor that jJw mlmini choked, M ’ ’' ™ m “

1 Oratfimti TiiiiuUticui, p.

TI1F, MV flit: Al HL'KGEA-STKIKER

543

Lhls 1 she received tile Dwly . nur Lord without any difficulty
And this diitolvzng Itself, as it were, and pacing into her soul, not
only comforted her soul, but relieved her bodily weakness int-
mediaidy. Twice during her illness ft happened that on ns-dving
the Sacred Host, her face wm illumined with ray* of light. We
tried once whether she could lake an unconsecrared particle, but
she instantly turned away, having a horror for the smell of bread.
And the pain and uneasinra she felt at a small portion having
touched her teeth,, was set great that she began to cry out, to vomit
imd spit, and to pant and *ob 3 as if her breast would have burst.
And thus she continued to cry out a long time, and though she
wadied her mouth with water over and over again, yet she could
hardly rest throughout the greater pan of rite night. Yet however
infirm she was in body, and however light and weak her head was,
since tor iifty-three days before her death she ate absolutely nothing,
yet she could always bear the light of the *im, and never dosed
her eyes against its brightness and splendour And what h still
more strange, though we often sang loudly in the chinch [astunuh-
htg ihe fact may seem lo our modern notions, it is to be remem¬
bered that Maty was actually lying in the church, in a side chapel
where die had had a couch prepared for her at the beginning of
** r iUn» ■" order to die ihere] and rang (he church beds, which
made a loud and tharp noise, dose at her cars, and that for a good
'■’•liijit together, and again, when many masons were striking and
knocking with thdr mallets at an altar which we were having
built to 1« consecrated by the Bishop of Toulouse, yet none of this
nobc gave her the least disquiet or uneasiness, when once the
knew' dial it was for the service of Cod or Hi* Church. She ItenelT
said, when we were commiserating her, that the wimd did not jar
upon her nerves, nor ever go near her braui, but that she received
it directly in her soul, where it tjavc her yrrat sweetness, 1

ti is impossible nut to be struck by die analogy- between Mary's
condition anti the hypenothesia which, as 1 have already had
occasion to remark, was to conspicuous in Domenjca Lazzari,
When Dr, Dei Cloche induced the latter to smell some [oast her
Bwc, we are told, was contorted with pain, and, after violent
spasms, she fainted away, I am by no means saying that these
manifestotions are in any degree supernatural or divine. S imilar
symptoms are Caramon in many h Clerical disorders. My con ten¬
don Tor the moment is confined to ihk, ih.it in these state* of
1 Ibid,, pp,

344 TWC VlfyaiCAL PIEEMOMEJtA OP MVEltgfltt l

tuysncd nnion, the normal functions of the sentient and nutritive
procHTBso of the body often seem to be profoundly altered, or si
any rate partially inhibited. The psychical element, in lacl,
appear* in orne grange way to dominate the physical. Even the
hypfiu lie trance furnkhes phenomena of much the same kind- If
I Ml not Tnhtnkrfi, the upcriitvat has more than once been tried
with certain peculiarly sensitive subject*, of administering a strong
emetic before indue nig the hypnotic trance. As Jong at the trance
Iittti, even though it be protracted for two or three hours, the
subject ii iloL i hcouvcditticed, but when lie is restored to normal
consciousness, Lite emetic at mice takr* cfltct.

bwm what earlier than the experience of Mary of Oigmo, we
have the case of the visionary in the Abbey- of Eymbatn, wear
Oxford. Outing die years novicesliip which lie spout in tlmt
house it is recorded of him by the sub-prior Adam* ail tyovritnea,
tiuii ** his st-imai h abhorred so greatly meat and drink that SOTTie-
timo by the space of nine days or more he might receive nothing
but hnlc warm Water. And whatsoever thing of Iccdicrofi or
physic any man did to him fur his comfort or his amend mem,
iL.jLl.itLg helped him, but all mi nvd oami*r* l, i Another example,
equally remote from Bdraenka Xjrasatf and Louise Laicau, is that
of istj Catherine of Genoa* at the close of the fifteenth century. As
Enron f licdridi von HllgeT, summing up the evidence in the ease
of this remarkable mystic, temarka:

As to Hood, it is clear that* however much we may lie able or be
hound to dt iLu t from tbi<' accouutd, itinre remiuas a solid nut ictu
of remarkable fact. During some twenty yean, she evidently went,
for a fairly equal number of days—some thirty in Advent and some
forty tu Lein, seventy in .lLI a nnual ly—with alt but ::o ffjod; and
w-tj, during these lasts,, at least as vigorous and active aa when her
nutrition Has normal* * - . Practically tltc whole of her devoted
vice fin her hospital at Genoa) fell within iW years, or which
well-nigh onolifLti was corned by these all bat total abstinence!
from food, 1

Baron von Huge! further calls attention to the feet that during
these fern she received Holy Communion daily, and also, u was
customary at Genoa, a draught of wine by way of ablution, and
occ^vEmiaUy, at other times, a litde water rendered unpalatable by
an admixture of salt or vinegar. But the fast seems to hare been

* 7 'v f'iriim r-f thr ,Vfrw£ a/ Ejnih.im, Eng. Trim., ji iy_

* 7)f AJjuu.J <;J Rtiigtati Jl, p. jj.

rHE HTranC Vf HUNCiER-STRIKEa

343

continuant far forty diy>-s without any imet ruprti n on the Sundays,
and her confessor Marabotto leaves ns clearly to understand that
she c&vM not at these times take any solid food or any other form of
drink. Under obedience a be attempted to do to, hist the stomach
instantly rejected anything 5hr 1 received in ibis way. Still more
significant is tiler (act to which Baiun van liUgel specially directs
attention, ,l that these two conditions and functions., her fasts and
her ecstasies of a definite, lengthy and mrngth-bifnging kind. arise,
persist and then fade out of lier Life tu^ctlicr." And from this he
deduces the conclusion that, as the ecstasies must have greatly
diminished the stress and strain of ordinary existence, “ the antount
of food required 10 heal the breach made by life's wear and tear
would by these ecstasies be considerably reduced,” This U, no
doubt, a possible explanation; i*ut it muit be remembered that in
the ['n: of Dwnetiica Lavi/ari. at least, there was no apparent ec¬
stasy, though, al the same time, ibe hod not any external duties
in perform, but led only tlir lifr of u siiicbriu^ invalid in bed.

Before turning to any similar exjicrienccs which arc nearer our
own times, It seems necessary to say something of the particularly
well-ottested case ofSt Catherine of Siena, No one who h.rsany
knowledge of the wrjuiterfii] personality of the Saint, of the interne
sincerity and devotion which breathe in all her fet t e r s, and of her
Ftrenuous efforts to reform moral abuse and stimulate am work of
chanty, can for -l moment be in doubt of her personal iruthfulricss.
The only question which could arise would be as to the possibility
of some ton mu ml ml is dc tons 1 imp bon of food of which die herself
wo* unconscious. But under the conditions in which her life was
passed diij would be almost incredible. She lived with a retinue
of mordent, who, out of devotion to her person, watched her in some
sense night and day, Tltey detected at mice the unreality of her
pretences of taking a meal when the sat at a table with them. To
appreciate the full weight of die rvidrnec it is necessary to read the
whole uf chapter sdv in the /-(/# of Si. Catkrriwt, by Mother Francii
Raphael . 1 She Li die only hiugrapher who has hceu able to Utilize
all the material*, including more particularly tile carintuzatfon
processes, which throw so much light on tliL more mnrvelfoui
ajpeci of her history. It is only possible to quote a paragraph or
two here, hut it will S>r understood that the evidence is much fuller
ilum can be thus indicated. Speaking of the period when St.
Catherine began to c:cmnmmicale daily, the writer says:

1 Hy fexmmt w. of counts. IjoaoJ u|«i the life by BIe mj Raymond dTCspva,
I'M! If, ch. iv, The Latin leu of tht* U printed in lie AJJfS-, April, V r oL ill,

25 *

3 #

THB mVBCAL rttENOiiENft HP ITVSTICISM

Tim hcavcT »ty ^ raHaSed and supported rmt only her sou],
bui her body also; so tluit ordinary fond became «w longer neces¬
sary' to licr, and the attempt to shallow ft was attended by ejtira-
qrdiimrv Hiffiefirtgs, This Tart *ccm«l in her family ,md those
about her so it] credible that they leaf lily enough decided ih,u it
Ma* 4 deceit ot the enemy, ami her confessor mdrttd her to taht
Fond daily, and give no heed to any vision which might wem to
prcimU- thr contrary. She obeyed, at she invariably did, but the
obedience reduced her to such a state that they feared for Itrr life,
1 hen he; examined her and drew from her the feel that the Blessed
Sacrament so satisfied her as that she neither desired nor was able
to la ic liny other food, nay, that thr mere presence of the Blessed
‘ tlLraj ^- tl h or of the prirnt - ho was privileged to touch it, in same
»rt ndimthed her find supported Iter bodily strength- 4 As he still
hesitated, m doubt wluit to think, Catherine *ud to him with her
ettstomary mttoat and respect: - Father, I would nsk you to
edi me one dung; in case I should kill myself hv overtiming,
ahl ,lJd 1 «& uh V own death ? " tL Yes, 15 s,rid he, " Again ”
faid she, » 1 beseech you resold me hi this: which do ytni take i<*
rJ W *™ ltr S5(1 ' *° dk bv over-eating or by uvei-abilinen, e ? 11
by OYc^nm*. of course/' he replied- ' Thim ” .lie continued,
ar " 4,011 xperic7nce that i am very weak ruul n-rji at death'*

dour by resunn Of my «&lg, why eJcf you not forbid me to eai, as
you would forbid me to fan in the like case ? - To that he could
make nu ttmver; ami, therefore, seeing by evident tokens ifon „he
w.« near thr pouil of death, hr concluded by saying: '* Daughter,
do .is >«dI shall pur m your muni, follow the guidance of His Hoi
Spirit, an ,i pray For me; fer L ice that the things Cod works in
you nrc not to be measured by thr Common rule."*

Now these facts do not depend upon ihc ttaitmnits of historian*
who h^g long after the e^nts described, gathered their info™-
fioro > ! "«>' »■«> Madman. Our •oiues h« ar= tbc note,
of Iweonfcmr., Father Thoma, della Fame and Blared Ravnmnd

SI? lhe <eslimo!1 >' Of hUiuuUe friend,
and due,pie, .aeh » father nit.rn.rr CaJTarini and Frantfa MJe-

1 I imp cidt 4lireilSon t-, Urn cnarimxi mriUr) in lEs.- rir> re. f i*

^r.,„ ' Hjvinif l«n .alin. ft, ™™ £/ ^ 1 v Ztl,:

oThct canfeiw mid mfot it: ami iu rxfou* ^r, l " ts ,

for many dais riu* jicrtW rolored ^ 60 ^ M ^

H^!, .W*L mX£$iSS£ l +*?** h “ l ** ***■ F - —

the stvsrtc as iwNoia-irkiKr.a

voItL From September* 137$, until t he Lem of die following year,
Catherine could only lake the smallest quimtit of riuUf&bmimt,
and u from Passion Sunday until Ascension Day* a space of fifty-
five days, no kind of food passed het lips* yet neither her wraknesa
nor her sufferings seemed to diminish her activity in all good
works," 1 She herself sap in a hi ter still extant: 1

You tell me I ought to pray God that I may be able to eat;

I assure you before God that 1 use ervery effort to do so* and that
once or twice every day I force myself to take food* i have
constantly prayed to God, and 1 do and will pray, that He will
grant me to live like other Jjeople, if such be His will.

Though tills letter speaks of Iter forcing herself to take food* it
a certain from the testimony of tin we who sat with her and watched
her, that what she took in this way was immediately afterwards
rejected. fn one of her last fetters to her confessor, Blessed Ray-
mill id. at the very end t>r her life, die says: “My body remains
without any kind of food, not even so much L is a drop of water,
and its sweet sufferings ore so great that I have never fell anything
like them, and my Lilc bangs,, as it were* by a thread."*

Sucli examples in that of St. Catherine are by no means rare in
die uiitHils of Christian atcrtictsm. la the case of another daughter
or St. Dominic, the famous Mother Agnes nf Jesus, in the seven¬
teenth century, we have precisely the same physical repugnance for
ordinary food, induced, it would seem, by a similarly intense
devotion to the Blessed Suerament. She did m credible violence
to herself to eat what she was bidden to cat, but do what the would,
she could not retain it Piire Boyre, S.J., one of her directors,
assures m that at one period die was allowed to give up the attempt
and passed seven months without any other food lium the Holy
Eucharist She became very weak, but did not look ill. After*
wards she gradually, but with great suffering, recovered the power
uf taking ordinary food* although always in a very small quantity.*
WiiimiH delaying further ovr: other ancient examples I will only
note that this physical repugnance for tofk) food, or for certain
[■inryi of foal and drink, is often found in myitic* who are not
attempting to practise complete abstinence. For example, to
the case of A very modern idgmitk wlio tun already been several
times mentioned In previous chapters, when Sister Marta cldla

1 Huts™, p. apj, i j^ lp p , a(J( s flit, IL, p i\i.

*Snr iHj- adm i r ably iWmicnin) Ly it fj v , At, Axnh Jt Wiai, by ■
l-antflga and Lu^ot (nri». IL. pp itS<3. 3G0, 36 r-

7'HE I’lTV^ICAl. ITONOMENA OF MVSTICJiU

Pfliainne wished to abstain from food altogether throughout Lent,
her director would run permit it> but required that every forty*
eiglit hnun, or in other worth, on alternate day?, she should take
a. meal eomisiing tjf two or three ounces of bread with a little ml
This she did under obedience, and all went wdj, If, however* her
superior, or any other person, persisted in requiring her to t.ake
Other food, she obeyed like a good religious, hut what she took hi
this way she immediately brought up again, together with a
quantity of blood . 1 The same director further informs ua dial he
allowed her, in the year iota, to r™ Easter to Pentecoct,

dunng which time it appears that she took no other nourishment
than a little coffee in the evening. Let me listen to add here tluu
I am very well of the frequent onrurreiicc in hysterical ernes

of strange pea-versions of the appetite and also of inmrajkable
repugnances Tor certain articles of food, while the vomiting oJ
blood, sorneiira pnim sometimes diluted with & watery fluid, is
onc of the moat common symptom* of the same class of disorder.
It a impossible, thcicTore, Without much fuller and more minute
inquiry than can h c attempted here, |o regard these phenomena as
constituting a presumption of the interference of the supernatural.
But st ill they to he recorded, if only because they show that

* con* idcrable minulier of these cane? of prolonged alutmcnce offer
many points of analogy with the pathology of hysteria

fiut let us turn now to the ease of Louise Latent, the w-dMumwn
stigmatisi c of the Bois tPHainc, which not only belongs to modern
times, but which has probably been more studied tuid discussed
than any other example of the same kind of phenomenon We
have the advantage t>r being able to use both the voluminous
biography ol Canon A. TU&y ( * nffl incomplete, and also the
much more equvtmknt and bet** ordered abridgment published
recently.* Unite Utrcu was the- daugh^r o! ^unpfc peatam
folk; die was bom in 1 B 50 and died in , 8*3 [ n the same one
stoned cottage m which she saw the light, Afciumgh from .
medical paint of view there mu no W family history In the cate
of either of her parents, stUI i, seems to me that her libgraphefi
e^^gfjrate wIkmi they imply that in her early life the waThealthy
and normal. She was a good child who worked hard and devoted

da poi ]o r^etmvs con fbrti thosJui Hi 14*™," oL_, t*-. . „

1 ; v ^ *««, in 5 &f 8 &

W.TfcwMf Buj)>T:iphit .J L-juiif fuln Iff J.-, - . , r „• . j-

■]»dr puilWiol, m, I£K x, pa™ m .It", P*">

i U Sitm^Ddet. iM+ lUr.^l., j, 1Jf tMUVr lstt>) pf

Tin MYSTIC A3 mWOEK^mUKESl

340

herself to help others in every way she * -rink!, At the age of
thirteen she was. knocked down and trodden upon hy a row, and
though she said nothing alxuit it, the interim! injury ycmM to hare
been Ahscesm formed ,ind she ndfhvd .1 great deal nf

pain. In lUS? there wm wmc serious trouble of the thru.u which
led to her receiving the Last &acramcni», hut she was miraculously
cured during a novena 10 Oiir Lady of La Solcltc:. Three weeks
later the bfitnme the victim nf ticuralgfc p&tlm of a very fnictiic
kind, and these were followed by more abscesses, and also by
blood spitting, As a result, at the beginning of die following year
lt86fl), she was Irelievcd to be again at the point of death, but
once more she unexpectedly recovered, and at the same time she
liegOJi to have visions and to hold colloquies. with her celestial
visilanls, Even before ihh, Otl tire Brst Friday of ttlfid, she had
folt intrjLie pain in luinth, fern and .idc, though tin external marks
were ai yet perceptible, On the ^jih of April blood ran from her
side, on dir 1st of Mav ihic Upper tuiface of the feet was nbo
bleeding, and a Sew weeks later the hands were similarly affected.
Concurrently wit 7 * this Louise began to be notably more absorbed
in Cod during the time of these visitations, and on July 17th, tftfifl.
she passed into an ecstasv which lasted for two or three hours, and
then returned later in the same evening for a much longer period.
From dial lime forward both bleeding and ecstasy recurred on die
Friday or every week. Meanwhile the dmaire for food was steadily
growing, Louise had always l use 11 u small cater, but after the
CCMaries and the stigmata had begun, though she continued to do
hard manual work on ail day* except Friday, when her wounds
Incapacitated her, still the omoutif of nouridimcut she took became
less and less in quantity. On Fridays no food of any sort passed
her lip.*, uid what die took «u other times amounted to no more
than ounce 01 two of bread, liiilf iti apple or a apixmfnl tif
in^c tallies, March 30th, 1871, w:is the last day when Louise was
able to cat and digest any solid fool wjrhnut acute fullering: she
did tier utmost DO obc> when her mother or her coalbssur mged
Iwrr to take nourishment, but, as in the ease we have previously
noticed, if with great difficulty she forced herself to swallow any¬
thing, the stomach rejected it almost immediately afterwards. Dr.
VYariittmint noticed that when milk which had been taken and
returned in this way was examined, it showed no signs of curdling,
a proof tiuot the gastric secretions were practically non -existent.
Many experiments of thb kind were made by various members of •
the commiiiiuuj appointed to examine the poor girl's condition.

3S° Tltt: PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF mysticism

Sbr dtiultl not even retain 3 noii-coitsecrated host, Lfic . ’li ;l,r
received Holy Comrnim’rfn daily, and there was apparently t fta
janw difficulty about a spoonful of pm* water, After May t&f$
khe liud to take U. her bed, anti from that time forth the Blessed
Sacrament was frvuughl Lti her daily, but, CUtiouiK -Tivii/li, l have
ci'n! fomid any smtrtntnl as to whether she was able to receive the
ablution of teftter commonly given to the tick after Conrnimimn. 1

Al the Lime v^hrtii (Jic vers ^rriniotiima doitiutjimtts cpncnnbig
the icaJitv of fjouiac Late-au^s inethti took place in the Belgian
Academy of Medicine, Louise lud already, so, at any rate, it was
alleged—lived for more than four years without any sort of nourish-
■nit the Blessed Sacrament* 1 This abstinence continued until
her death in ifl% It is admitted by practically all the many
mcdiGd men, rome friendly and same hostiie t who concerned
thtmiches With the ease, that DO fragment gf positive evltoce has
ever been produced which can throw doubt upon the statement
made by Umbe, ha sUlen and rmdb&ors* thm during all 11 Lose
ye^rs site took no food. No one pretends, even during the rears
when she still wm bmy wilh hard manual work, to have seen her
eating any tiling by ittalLb, N'o testimony was ever forthcoming
to disprove her staiemem that the normal racren.r. processes
were entirely suspended* On three or funs occasion* at least ?he
wast solemnly adjured hy those whose authority she tai^nucd as
holding the place of Cod, 10 tell the truth regarding her alMUjience
and to conhim her Statement with an oath. On these nccasiani
n .T™ Shuwcd tjif * iightcst Citation. For example, ip March
I 0 J 3 afar was very ill, and Dr. Lefcbvrt, who was voted bv the
Bishop with full powr,, *aid to her:

" >incc your strength is ebbing Out and you are .rear

death, tn the presence of God licfore whine tribunal you wilt s^Qd
be judged, WO me if you have eaten nr drunk anythin,, during the
bit seven wan :

tV> which she replied:

" In die presence of God who b to be my judge, and of the

death lam expecting. I assure you that I have neither eaten nor
Jj Ltnk for seven years." 1

Wid, nejtard to die poormflerer'l nnecrity there can I think tre no

**2Z£E8i t l }.J£“ ‘ Wl ifc im «»*

, ii - r

1 TMtor,, ,Y«a»tie Ht II, p, 41 3,

TTIE MYiTin AS HUNttBR-SnUKfcfl

35 *

shadow of doubt. Even among die modi rabid of tise anticlerical*,
those who bad any sort of personal acquaintance with Louise did
noi question her good faith. .-Vs Dr. LeFebvrc wr)’ ivt-JI argues:

When one follows the hidden way of life of this humble and
brave girl, who lives jo poorly, shrinks from all nuticr, refuses oil
presents, whn work like a stave lo ]s*-!p her mol her and vet finds
time to muse the sick and bury the deadi who prays wiili the
fervour of an and unite and thr simplicity nf a child; who com-
presses the most solemn practices of piety within narrow limits fisc
fear of encroaching upon her hours of Work, there arUn from such
a life a perfume of truth whir h in spite of all doubts and suspicions
penetrates to the very bottom of one's soul . 1

If we do not admit that Louise £*teau*s abstinence w,ls real, the
only possible alternative h to suppose that during her seemingly
drirplcss nights (she herself declared under erm si c am mutation that
she hairily ever slept) she parcel Into i\ sumiiambuibtic condition
->r Astiuncd ^-inc secondary personality. so that her normal soil was
quite unaware of what dim took place. There arc Undoubtedly
Casa on recurd of those who. unable lo eat in Lbcir waking hours,
mi wittingly satisfied iheir cravings of hunger in the night-time.
Still, while one might easily believe that Mich tmcamcifyiv decep¬
tion might continue far a few weeks or immtbx without discovery,
it a hat'd to believe in the passiLiUity edits going on undetected for
three oi four, much less a dcdJCn, year*. Would nothing; be missed
in a thrifty household where every fragment of food b counted and
treasured up ? Would no signs of this somnambulism or this
secondary personality ever betray themselves at any other hour
than whefl the whole household was asleep ? Would ii never
happen that in thar tiny cottage some Unexpected noise would draw
attention to the fact that the invalid was astir, the more so that, an
already pointed cull, from lOjfi Louise was practically bed-ridden ?

It seems to rne, then, very difficult Ui suppose (Lint tile stigmstk**
alleged total abstinence was not real, Bui the question whether
it was supernatural is another matter, which can hardly be dis¬
cussed in the present chapter.

it used formerly to be urged against the credibility of the Lausiac
History of Ktiladitu and other similar chronicle* of die monk^ of
1 K/:« Ctihaiiftm (April, 187^)* p r 377,

35 *

TFJY rrmiQAL JUlEXOMt'JIA OF MYITJCOM

the de*eit, that the foot of abstinence therein ki frequently recorded
■vtefe phytfologtc&hy unpoiiLbdc* Undoubtedly many of these i***f
*” r V£ /'* itartlinR to <ilu modem notion*. The pilgrim ladv,
♦Etheria, at the end of the Fourth century, speaks of a wlude eon-
fraternity of KCtifi, then known u hihdotnaifattii -—-perhapj a c might
lay “ week-enders H ; to cah diem die weekly-ones TT would
certmtily sound unppcopnute~wlu> throughout Lent took on food
from die Sunday evening tmtH the following Saturday afternoon,
i o observe nidi l Title for six week* consecutively would seem a
great feat dI rininiutOT, and, w already rioted, this was not confined
|o one nr two individual* of exceptional phvdque, but appears to
been the practice observed fay a whole band of fervent wor-
liiippcr* who were not regarded after all as doiiig anything very
extraordinary. The historical evidence in this case is excellent and
first-hand, but it is a satisfac-titm to find that the pathological
experiments undertaken during recent years bv such investigators
a* Dr. R. H. Chittenden and Dr. F. C. Benedict fnllv otahliih
the ability of any ordinarily healthy subject to support nidi a
.urairt without permanent injury to the system,* Dr. Nod Fawn,
who mare titan thirty years ago reported on die case of the French¬
man* Alexandre jarquet , state* in the latest edition of his Eumtutk
of Hitman i*hv. iwfagy that 11 wfim a man is kept quiet and warm and
aupplud with w.ilef, ■: fast <t' thirty* day's may in many case* be
home without injury, 1 No doubt can now reasonably be cntei-
^ned that StcILmo Merlatti, who m iB86 went without food for
ftftv days; Dr. Tanner, who in 138) accomplished forty; Sucsi,
Jacques, Penny and others, who in modern time* have all sup¬
ported the same deprivation under ten condition* for thirty days
or more, performed their sduimposed task without any fraud nr
imposture. Or course, tiiey all drank water, but they nlmmned
from all forms of wW is commonly regarded as nourishment,

Hiere is, btnvttvtXj a wide difference between a fast of seven
weeks nod one of seven month* or seven years. Nothing con be
plainer from tltc detailed report* which we possess of nil these
perfonuaru « ikn. that tint subjects, as they approached thr term
they had Kt before tlicmadves, were drawing near the utmost
hrmts of their physical endurance. In (far rase of Met Iain’s fifty
days till* fttt pjirticulflily noticeable, The doctors watching the

') \ A Sktb of fW*
v, ‘ &-I rtitruit? Did

TTHL iTVaitU AS HUNGER-STRIKED 353

sufferer's condition were thoroughly alarmed, and Implored of him
to dtsiaL 1 All Puni may E>c said to have hreatlied again when die
fiftieth day wru at lint safely rtarheti. On die whole, I think we
should have Uj suty ih.it the etEjdricnce nf ihrr professional faster?
puinti railin' to the conclusion dial any long pm Exacted abstinence
h-Jn Bod, and t «pa : .IK ii.-m il -,-1 -:i.■ L drink :■ getfitr, put) .m
almost insupportable iirnin upon lire system, Lf this be continued
for more than a couple of months, and leaves die vitality of the
subject to all outward appearance unimpaired, we are led to
assume the operation of some influence Or force winch is apparently
not explainable by ordinary natural causes.

And yet f>efbre %ve commit ourselves to any definite conclusion
we must tahe account of the fact that there is a considerable body
of evidence, in cases where no supernmural intervention can
reasonably lie leaked for, nursling the continuance of life without
either food or drink, far jrcriucLs., not only of three or four months,
but of three Dr lour vean. IjCI ti* tic gin with an example from
Kincardine in Ro$s-shire, which was reported to the Royal Society
through ilic imcimcdmjy of the Right Hon, Jama Stewart Mack*
euzio Lard LVivy Seat of Scotland. *rfie sufferer in question wtu
one Janet McLeod, a young woman who at (he ogc ul fifteen had
had an epileptic attack, and at nineteen another of a still more
serious nature Which confined her to bed for several months and
leif her without any control of her eyelids, so that, unless she raised
the lid with her finger, she was quite unable to see. A third epi-
k-ptir seizure when slit was twenty-eight reduced her to a still
more pitiable condition. She tjecame ,1 help!os invalid, and on
Wfii 1-Sunday, *763, her jaw became Tan lor Iced. Her father with
a knife fort eel it open enough to introduce a Mule thin gruel or
Whey, but it all, or nearly all, ran out again. From this time, for
more than four years, it is seated that die took no food and lust all
desire for it, except that on two occasions her jaws for a while
relaxed and she asked For water. All the normal excrcjcif’, pro¬
cesses were suspended, except, oF course, from the lungs and skin.
The doctor who reports the case declares that when fie saw her die
girl was not at all emanated. She was confined to bed, the legs
bent up under the body* but she slept a good deal, and be adds
(hat ** at present (ra. f 1767) no degree of strength can force open
her jaw*,*’ Tins report, which b printed in the Philosophical
Ttwaactittm of the Royal Society, continue as follow?:

*Sm ill 1 : hill crport wiilirn lit Dornm Mitfiin aixt MurcclmJ, Strfd w Mirlutti,
<t 'kR J+I.lu 1UQ7.

354 tie pfiVul'aj. pii£xoue> op WYrntum

In wmc of the attempts to open her jaws* two of the under
funsterth weft forced om; of which o petting they often r n .
devoured to avail themselves Ly putting some thin nourishing
drink into bet mouth: but without eJTeci, fox it always Tttinieil
by ihe combi's: and alx>ui a twelvemonth ago, they thought of
thrusting ai tittle dough of oatmeal through tSiis gap of the teeth,
"h»ch -,be would retain a few seconds, and thru return with some*
tiling like -i straining to vomit, without otic particle going down;
iw>r has iht family 1 >ecn setaibk, through observing nf auv
afFpcntauLc like that of swallowing, lor now four yean* or her
consuming any tiling H the arnll draught of Bramar water

a 4 i>.l [Ik lyigluh pirn of c o till non m aicr which she took in full

176 & 1 T

'■ ' r ,ljr fin 1 her told rhat the: tlriailj oS the case were taken down
by the bedside of the sufferer from the lips of the fa titer and modicr*

people (si great venicily, who are undfr no lenipiation to deceive,
«* they neither ask, iw?r expect, nor get any thing." The icatement
is further aite-utd by witm-w* of .landing w ho lived in the neigh¬
bourhood and uiio spoke highly of the itrici religious pi incipEt"> of
the family, 'Their daughter's 'tau\ ,h it b said, is a van-great
mortification to them And universally known and regretted b> ah
their I he same iloctur vitiini the girt again live

year* laser, w hen he found that she was beginning to swallow a little
ertimblrd oat-iufcr introduced through the -ap in the teeth. Two
years aiteri\.irr.U ihc j.mv. tdaseti mill life Lccainr moie noittul.

One would hesimte perhaps to regard tiiii am: as very i.uis-
f.ic [; jv, but tor tiic existence of simiLsr instances in othec parti of
the world, which certainly do n&t in any way depend 011 the
account not given, and lend it ^nnte indirect confirmation. For
example, m ihc Bthimhb^ BtOamgat, a Swiss periodical published
at Geneva, we may find the report drafted by certain men of
ftckucc in titar city of a visit paid to an unfortunate sufferer,
jusrphmr Durand, who, they allege, lead already lived for four
yea- wiihom cither solid or liquid rood- The poor girl was quite
blind and .d . i a dyzciL The lower limb* could be pinched or
punc tured without her experiencing any sernatkm. The jaws
wtre convulsively locked, but this did not prevent her making her-
sdf tttidemood], thtHgli with acme little difficult of articubdou,
VMiar Iriidv tJir raw ntcepdonal iiMtrrest is ihe fact that the jprl
was u Catholic wliilc Ucr scientific visitors were apparently not of
1 Phtiattybi u Ttamtwii**!, Vol I.XVII, p. ».

♦

THF. MYSTIC A* mtHOfift-STlUEIrtt 355

that Communion, Normally she conk) take neither food or drink,
the very idea was repugnant, b<u they tell us:

U’e have teamed dial l>e£ng devotedly attached 10 thr pi helices
oil'the Catholic faith ihr 1 omiminkate* pretry frequently, that \r, in
1 ly shout imt:e .l month. Site thm receive* a fragment of the
fi '-1 small enough to pa 1 * through the opening where a tooth has
bato extracted, arid the presence of tlm small panicle of solid in
dir otsopluigus does run scan to excite the cimr convulsion* h v> the
action of the liquid normally does,

i he visitor* werrt auxiurn to he c onvinced as lu her difficult) in
taking nouriihmcnt; and an their account elates;

At our request die made an at tern pi to swallow half a spoonful
of plain watcrj an experiment which always exhausts and diitteaei
her more or less* We made ihr liquid to trickle in by the gap in
1 he teeth. Tlit deglutition of ir appeared difficult and painful and
its presence in the stomach instantly produced a convulsion which
1 ,iii nil (he liquid out of thr mouth again, This experiment was
followed by a son of paroxysm which lasted a quarter or an hour,
hut died away by degrees.

The impression* of the visitors, bolh ,xs regards the girl ha'sclf
and her home and surrounding*, seem to have been highly favour¬
able, They stjq for example:

I he moral character of this poor creature inspires deep inteiest
and true admiration, Her patience and resignation are extreme,
ai also have been her sufferings. Lying far four years on her bach
in the ymc attitude, tortured by pain, and at intervals by hunger
and thirst! craving* which sometime* last for as much u a month
together, uniting in some Min in hrr own person every form of
misery, she still would not allow us in pity her. Sim was bent on
showing us that there might he many |>ccplr more unfortunate
than herself She turned die conversation from her own tr ubla,
^hr even trial to mouse ns with little jests which were jiol without
point, and one might Rt now and ag jlii 4 mite flit at russ dir lips
usually compressed with the habit of suffering , 1

The visitors ooted that die abdomen w.-l constricted and seemed
10 he quile close to the vertebral column. They also declared that
the family while affording ever) facility for examination, lcfutul

1 fintimAupi*, M Ilf r Scrnifn d ,\oi, p. iflu.

35 ® T II R PHYSICAL nrENOVTENA OF UYITIOSM

all presents anil were well known to make this nn invariable rule.
Some of them came quite prepared to detect imposture, but the
only suspicion* point they cotilii find in the rose wav the fact that
die poor sufferer was held in veneration by the peasantry for some
miles round as one in repute of sanctity. In truth, the account 1
quote from, in view of the high character and simple directness of
the parents, dismisses these suspicions a» unreasonable. The pro¬
posal was made that Josephine should Ijc brought to the town and
kept for a while under strict medical observation, and to this the
girl and her parents at once readily agreed. The political dis¬
turbances of the times, however, rendered it impossible to carry
this suggestion into effect, and a few years afterwards the girl died
without any autopsy being attempted . 1

A somewhat more recent case, which acquires importance from
the fact dun it was observed by a doctor acquainted with the
pathological theoria of die latter half of the last century, is that of
Marie Furtncr, of krauiorf, in Upper Bavaria. If, on the one
hand, her fast was less remarkable because she continued at ail
times to drink large quantities of water, still, on the other hand, it
b alleged to have lasted for over forty years. The girl, as far back
as 1 835> after various illnesses, came to take a violent disrelish for
ull forms of solid food, and by degrees allowed nothing CO jwss her
Ups^ but draughts of cold water from a mountain spring in her
nath c hamlet. A doctor interested in die case made it kuown to
some of his more teamed colleagues. Pressure was used to per¬
suade her parents to allow her to be brought to Munich, and the
girl wav placed in a hospital, where site was committed to the
charge of two nureing-sistm, sworn to keep her under observation
night and day. 1 hr girl 1 health suffered under the conditions of
^ ^ very homesick. Consequently, after an

experiment of twenty-two days, she was sent back to her parents,
but during her stay she consumed nn solid food of any kind and
drank nothing but water, neidier was anything discovered about
her suggestive of fraud. One of die young doctors concerned in
the experiment, Dr. Karl von Schafliitukl, afterwords became a
L'nivcrsity Professor, and upon Marie Furtner’s death in 1884 he
published a short essay on die subject of her extraordinary ahsti-
nence.* As he there points out, the girl and her family bore the

1 A reference to her dealh ia nuulr in a nntc at thr «-twl ,^1_

Science ct Arts, of the Dibliod+j* UnimnipT *

• fc'm RcUhni; /J Watutt

vwi Dr. Karl E. von Sehafluiuki. Untvmitat* fVofe^iuMunchen 1 Munich. 1885)!

the. uvaTii M misuea-TTRiEEX

357

very highest character in their native village, !\ : o profit of any
kind, but uidy trouble, accrued to them from [] J( i hunger* ivlu.,

hearing of the phenomenon* oceaiibnally visited the spot, Marie
main tallied her aversion to solid food down in within a few months
of her death. The successive parish priests who ministered to die
spiritual wans of the locality alt spoke lughly of her* and were
convinced of the filet dint hrr abstinent^ was genuine. She in no
way courted notin': it wns the doctors who in the Jim instance
spread the story of rirr avoidance of food and who brought her to
Munich hi 1644. Moreover, although the girl was a. devout
Catholic* the caw* was never represented as having any religious
complexion.* From all these dreumstanre*, and others too com¬
plex to tie tall* Professor von SchjifhfuiU convinced himself that*
incredible as existence In this foodies condition for fprtv years
might appear* the facts of the ease could not rationally be disputed.

While no otic will for a moment dream of denying that a large
Dumber of pretended fosters were simply Impostors 1 trading on
popular credulity, still a linle investigation discloses the existence
of a Far greater percentage of wdJ attested cases than would be
readily believed. When Prosper Lambertim, afterwards famous
at Pope Benedict XIV* was engaged upon his great work* De
Htatifitatiun/ el Camtiizulioru SancUtnm t he addressed a request to the
Academy of Sciences at Bologna inking For a scientific opinion
upon the supernatural character of the many remarkable examples
of abstention from food which were recorded in the lives of Candi¬
da to for beatification. Tile Institute tn qurdion .ipjMimtcd A
commission, anti a memorial on the subject was drafted by J. B.
Beccori, which, in ib&o, a dtttmgubhcd Italian physician* Dr. A,
CoiTudi, in the Atmah f f/nk'eriaU <Ji AftJict'na, which lie then j^l ji rd,
characterizes :\s 41 belli c severa dissertaaione / 1 This dissertation
Lb primed ai an appendix to Book IV, Fan I* of Lambertinih great
work. Iti ir Beccari, while fully recognising the likelihood of
imposture, credulity* mnl-ohservation, etc., in the majority of
reported coses, still upholds the genuineness of certain well attested
examples of lung-protracted abstinence from food* where no super¬
natural causation etui be tearanahLy supposed. Airing upon this
view* Lumbrrtiui, practically speaking* lap down the rule that

1 v Di± Unlenucbung lialtc out iigcnd esnem tEiyiirn'tirij otlcr irttgioKti
Mudve ttWrhiwpt |itu tiiehn 111 limit; a loiuklte tidi tlui utn dor grtkliett
rF^IifrU tinjj CiiV-r rio mf hr AU., ji, 10*

* liven in. medieval linn rtieh ittipwmn wtr kmiv-ri. One t* tncnlJanrd in
the tile nf Si. Chite; tor F. M Aimiunb tii Lilm, l* 4 a di &. Cotilti l (Rome *
tSojk [i Uj, She lii-cd near GhmL

*c- r 1

Tin: PHVUCAt JMlENO^EJfA OH WV5Ttf;|i>|

prolonged frits most never be assumed to be mfrxctdo i* when c hey
havt origin nted in any form of Uinr « hit when ihe exercise oi fill I
bodily activity is not at the same time toaijitauwd by thr faster.
In spite oi Trie still primitive condition of medical science in ili-c
lini hair of the eighteenth century, it terrm lj mr that BrxxariH
reasons for putting confidence in the better atlejied CA<n of fastinc
[ ; h(iitntnmn, even when protracted for three or fiiur yeam,
fcmi]Limentally sound. The t pg gtfe p whether an invalid doe or
docs mil Consume food or drink, and whether the excretory mcctiaQ
sirr or are nm suspended, is -ifter nil simple question of f;n i. \
dutrp^ryed child may often m meh mallow hr a better witness Unm
tlte matt Jcaninl phynirisa m Europe, Now, as Weccari points
OMU the medical frcully in the sixteenth and ^vcTiircmli remain*
were fully aiivr to the danger of impure, they did subject their
p;iticnts to severe teats and provided that they should ngoi w 4 y
watched, l hr very fact ilia* ifier the publication of Wirr’, hook 1
ihrrr wtu. a :no4l tlenl >f Controversy upon the vuhjeci, oimpeUed
Ihem to fay (tress upon soda precautions. B«,wi accepts four
Iff* as ou^tonnly prov-ed, the first bang that of Apolkmui
Schreier which has been recounted in detail by the pbyskkn
Paul I us Lentulus. J his girl of eighteen, living uy the hamlet of
1 fp%v mjlc * frta ^ Berne, *» Switzerland, and String from
some mptmom disease try which the lower pan of the body vs-jti
hau: F*ndy«d had gradually begun to cat hw and S«s unlil she
*rihsrf lioth food and drink almgciher. She wa* brought to
tkrne by order of the magistral* and kept for three weeks under
smct “bKTvadmi ID a public hospital. Her mother w » R 1» in-
airceraiedj and rigorous-inquiry w , made about the conduit and
antecedent, of .hf family. Molting JWerol p. .i,

T™, v i" V . Thm '™* the qirl’s

ohdontm l<wkcd,m kntubt aid.just an ifii were ,|nil ofa cotpse
tmin whlrh all thtVKcrr, bad Itecn removtd Vr, ». ( ,| lr

bo * 'T " 0, . ll,1 > «“*** 1 ^« »whn a , Sc

cm) oi January, '&». Shit h.vt at that tunc, «, i, was alleged Iw
ter patent*, taken nether food nor eftink for eleven tnonlte. On
the hut occasion when he vfcted her. i.,., jnjuty .603, the eondilitet*
of her abstinence had DM teen changed; and s he was still hving
in May iwt. when he. booklet on the subject went to press.'

’ 1 ^ vwt ' 1 /—-rtiy ft tWiunJifiif fa nni/■ ,

■dSE&ttltssS' ts? ss%»sl IK as*

liui ram boufckt in the SO tab Miunxm 1 ,bfrc ^F r ” V;t

Tljf HVTn> A< IinNClEn-STTUKTR

35 «

Not [cw remarkable wa* the case of Margaret Seyfrit, a Ihile
girl of twelve, at Rodt, near Speyer, Her illness does not serin to
have beat of the Jam? seriniLa character ah thui ot the fasta*
previously mentioned, She auJFercd pain in her bead and in (ht
abdomen, and Wjo covered with intik, but she was not in any way
con lined in b«L SsJJ] T die child gradually gave tip eating, .and
after a year or more, she refused to take any kind of liquid, <9 that
from the month or May onwards, in the year 1540+ though the
summer was exceptionally hot, the could not lie penti.idcd to
swallow m> much as a spoonful of water. The Bishop of Speyer
intervened. In 1 " h y< he had the child confined: and closely watched
for ten days, but she resisted all efforts to induce her to lake food
or drink, and 110 trace of fraud was discovered. Somewhat later,
thr cl nimnnsiunt of* castle in the neighbourhood hraught her there
and kept her under observation for hvc days, but with no better
sucaee^. In [54a, when the -ibstincoce from both food and drink
had already been going uti fiir nearly two years, Ferdinand King
or the Romans came to Speyer and heard of thil extraordinary ease.
Me ordered his own physician* Gerard BucoltUaiius, with others of
hii suite, to subject the girl to a rigorou? iuv esdgatkm. Site \v,u
again carried away from home, stripped and dollied anew from
head to foot, closely watched night and day for twelve days, while
tempting delicacies were put in hei way. She could be persuaded
with much coaxing to put a cup of wine or water to her lips, but if
the took tin- smallest aip die at once spat it all out again. This
was. die doctor's own account of the mailer, and he failed to dis¬
cover any symptom of imposture. 1

Ulu tlicrr are quite a number of such cates attested by good
medical evidence. They belong to many different pri-inds and
many different countries,, m d the- dmimstanco, symptoms, and
also the ages of the subjects are exlrwwdy varied, Hicre b an
example of i\ Jewish girl in Rusdii, who lived hem September 1724
to June syafi* taking no food and next to no drink, but at ihc same
time showing no signs of extreme emaciation. 1 In another French
(‘.ah- a girl h said to have lived eleven years wit horn solid food. 5

1 J wo report* of this chic by tiisiinymifprd pN jiid-am art preserved, That
of UuralJjonaxi i*aj several irmcj printed in th- moir year, three copies,

prvntcil r^peclhTly jit Speyer, tVnv Kttd Lonfain, Ktl ui are Lei the Itniali

Muirum. Aihiilirr arcouuc is ijivm In ttw o’ cf Jclmim** L^ttjriut ki II
Ep, z 7 ,

1 Tile erne i> ^utwr^l hf Curr^dj in ibe AtOUlJi VtazrrmH 4 > Mtdkim^ VoL 351
(tBIuJ, p, 567, fr om the Prccc«imgT of the Acadian? of St. Pclcnburg,

* Corradi Uitr thl* from Leman, Jam>=aJ fr ,lj 74 ttXW, ***,„ p (ji

THE I'lrVilCAL Ot' MVVn i:(»U

360

Hiilt tetter attested h the storv of Louise Gtisrie of Attgldbrt en
From January * 770 10 August 1773 she tool: no food
anil dunttg twoyBRt)f that tunc she drunk notliing but plain writer.
Her doctor, M, dr 1 b Cfupdlc, sem a report of the case to the
Pari* Academic da Sciences, in the to,™ of which lie remarks:

3 t is imjioisiiplc to suspect any inipnturt :n thl.v phenomenon.
T he wonun lives wjtii her bmthen and sillers i 11 a poor hovel just
below the crest of a steep mountain uLLl ,,f c f gjj Cur j 01J1

yisltOflj w hert the air of deception has never penetrated, and
where such a trick would not brine in six sous hv wav of aims in
ihe whole of a twelvemonth. 1

fn Italy, l*roh L. Rolatido appareulEv gave full ^redeticr to the
ca5£ ^ mui Gar bens, of R&contgi, who i- viaictl i-< have lived
th.rty-two month* and eleven days without any iort of food or
drink. Rolando himself, after her death, performed the post¬
mortem and published an account of it in a pamphlet. 1 Similarly,
ai dir o’ .cnih cmigTm. of Italian scientists, held in Naples ..rif-pi
Dr, BurreJJ; made Irim^ctl guamniee for the genuineness of a famine
phenKmetivo otecrvrd in a girt in the Abm^ri who, uwilts to n
ilnv C stricture of the ffisophngm, which came on whenever
ftxd was put to ller lips, lived, <0 it ,aid r feu three year* without
e mm? 01 dunking. 3 The btet case wbkli ^rrm to leave attracted
ntlcntioD ts that orZeJic Bouwiou, a peasant woman Wi Phig> ad,
At torxy-fivc year* ot age she became an inmate of the Rourdcilles
hospital, and remained there under strict observation from March
91b to July 1 ath. 1S96, !35 days in all. During this time she u&k
n dung hut n occasional draught oNotr pmiU (tottit and water!,
which her itomaeh rejected =u once. Slices oT fresh birad and
other eomrsiiblB, continually renewed, were left In a drawer of
tier room, but .he never touched any of them. Tl lc mind was
uudMnbtcLliy ajfetcd, owing to the death a long time before of her
tumhAud and four children, but it w,- aaird that for nine years
She had nut taker, food, and the people nf her own village believed
the story She lived ufone, and no baker, butcher or firmer
rcmriijrjrrcd ever to have sol 1 her anyt hing to cut, 4

«*££££*&£«&' * f 81 - l '°' ■«* *■ *-** #* .*

1 SfT C^TTT^ait in .^JnaaTi ii .Vf^unii' Vol. 351, p. ej 69

,n *“ *• **•*» **•— w

J S« A. fir iWJwu. La W^-irwi it it i’n S5*j>, p. 3^,

Tilt imm: m Hu.Ncta^iTHTia-R

a® 3

Although wc may readily admit the cxutcncc of a Large number
of cases of imposture Ln this matter* still where detection has
foil wed, as it often has, the motive for the fraud htt generally
been quite isiteLLigiLie. Anne Moore, " die Lasting woman of
Tuthtny," wht>, under rigorous smveilLincc, broke flown ou the
ninth day of an attempted fast, and made a Tull confession in 1813,
had deposited j£J.|.cfo in the funds thr year before, the proceeds of
her trickery'. Further, her early history waa by no means credit¬
able, and die had children who apparently acted as her con¬
federates. 1 Still* in several of the cases we have been considering,
even vanity nr the craving for notice could hardly have place
The interest of playing a part won evaporates when there is no
audience to play to, or where it b limited to the niemlwsts of a
mull family circle.

Bui if we ad mil the reality and the natural character of these
prolonged abstinences how c-iti we reconcile Lbe facts with die laws
of physiological science f flow can the mec.ibolism necessary foi
the continuance of human life be maintained under such circum-
s Lances for three or four yean together? Probably no adequate
solution can at present he offered. The cases that occur art too
rare and arc for the most part attended by such pathologic at
conditions in the sufferer as to prevent the possibility of thorough
scientific observation. When an attempt was made to induce
Marie Farmer to submit herself to a second period of medical
examination at Munich, the vclf-resprct of the modest Catholic
pea&am at once took alarm, She declared she would rather die
than allow herself again to be watched, weighed, pulled about and
stared at by a crowd of strange men. The some happened in the
case of Louise bateau, when certain doctors of the Bdeiun Academy
of Medicine were very anxious to persuade iter to undergo a similar
test of her alleged total tnerfut, In vitv, of the extremely severe
surv eillance and the publicity entailed, we cannot be surprised ihiU
in both instances, arid especially in that of Louise Lauau, whose
life wus then entirely spent in tmnmimtnn with God, the idea of
inch an ordeal was utterly repugnant. From I he refusal TO submit
to it it would be quite unreasonable to deduce any presumption of
bad faith.

On ihr other hand, physiologist' reecn to suggest that in cases
or starvation the actual cause of death U not mere inanition. It

1 Amtr Mwrr ii himnuid with i Mtke of iwj cotunmi in ibe ^

.Vaftviui Bvtzrtf'hj. The impoilurc hvl b«n ujceessfill I y maintained for Utfty
leva yean, 1

r-~* •

36 a

the physical phenomena op MYrrutsu

is hunger, ns Bernheim puis if, noi lack of food, dull kills the man.
At the same time we are meant to understand by hunger, not only
die craving for nourishment, which ordinarily ceases to be acute
after the first few days, but die mental condition induced by fear,
fretfulness, insomnia, and worry. As long as there is flesh upon
the bones, the vital organs, and more especially the brain anti
nervous system, are nourished at the expense of the muscular
tissues. For what period of time diis can go on is difficult to
determine. But so long as the brain is at rest, to which effect a
state of trance, ecstasy or certain forms of amentia probably con¬
duce, the transfer of these reserves proceeds unimpeded, though
die whole organism is living on its capital. The process of exhaus¬
tion is probably very slow, though we know* uncommonly little
about die condidons of metabolism in such cases. The quasi
hibernation ol cei Lain Indian fakirs who allow them selves to be
buried in the ground for Forty days, or even for four months,
without air or food, presents an analogous problem, but the fact
seems well attested.* Everything points to die conclusion that to
maintain hie under these conditions the fakirs adopt some method
of aiu.vhypnotitm, When Professor Ludaiti, who has made a
special study of this subject, tells us that death in cases of starvation
is due to the breakdown of the mlrma ngolaior, . by which he means
die nervous system, he u evidently laying stress upon the same
order of ideas.* With regard, then, to the wonderful fasts of
Catholic mystics, we seem justified, even from the standpoint of
modern science, in adopting the conclusions of Benedict XIV If
these long alwtinences from food have their origin in a diseased
condition of the organism, and if they are attended with a prevalent
state of ecstasy and a suspension of die normal activities oflife, wr
cannot safely conclude that we are dealing with a condition of
things wmch u of supernatural origin. If, however, it can be
proved that tha entire absence of nourishment, as seems to have
been die case, .or example, for some yean with Louise Lateau, is
maintained concomitantly with the continual discharge of ordinary
duties, then natural causes supply no explanation of the pheno¬
menon, and we are justified m inferring the intervention of miracle.

• L. Lucian., Fuwiogti iti Disnm fFirrnrc, 1839. , PP *56-7.

CHAPTER XVI

LIVING WITHOUT EATING
1

W E have a well attested instance of abstention in the five
years’ unbroken fast of Theresa Neumann, of Knnners-
reulh (Bavaria), which, so Car as I can Iram, is still
ma i nt ai n ed down to tins time of writing (1931). Since Christmas
1922 she has, it is stated, eaten nothing solid, and since Christmas
1926 no liquid lias been taken by her lor the purpose of nourish*
ment. For a time slic continued to receive a mouthful of water
each day alter Holy Communion, but on Scpicmbet 30, 1927,
even this was given up. The result is that since the last-mentioned
date hrr strict fast is said to liavc remained unbroken. With the
exception of the Blessed Eucharist Itself nothing digestible seems to
have passed her lips. We have also to remcmlier that she is not a
helpless invalid confined to l>ed. She attends Mass and other
services in the church, she goes about the village on errands of
charity—more especially to comfort the sick and dying—she talks
gaily with those who come to consult her, and performs light tasks
to help her own family. Moreover, throughout the greater pari of
die year she renews every Friday her terrible visions of the Passiun
and loses a by no means inconsiderable quantity* of blood from her
stigmata. What adds to the marvel is the fact that Theresa
Neumann, In making her daily Communion, does not commonly
receive even an entire particle such as is used for the laity. It is
only when she is in ecstasy that a whole Host can be given her. $0
long as she is in conscious possession of her faculties it is not possible
for hrr to swallow more than a tiny fragment rather Je» than the
eighth part of an ordinary Communion wafer.

The astounding nature of this prolonged fast, even apart from
the other phenomena, has ex c ited so much attention dial the facts
called for official enquiry. Accordingly in 1927 a commission was
appointed by the Bishop of Regensburg to investigate the *•«*'» under
the direction of a physician of high standing. Dr. Scidl. Four
nursing Sisters of Mallersdorf were chosen for the purpose, and a *

THE PHYSICAL PHENO&ICKA OF MYSncaU

3^1

very strict code nf regulations was drifted, to the observance of
which they were required 10 trad themselves by oath . 1 Relieving
cadi other by pairs. two (if the four were la be continually on duty
tt%bt and day, never allowing the girl during the prescribed fart-
i%hi of abscrviitinti lo be out of ihdr night even for cho shortest
interval* Her weight, temperature, jmbe, etc., Were to be fn--
quality taken, All excreta, whether in the process of natural
relief, or by die i!y?w of blood from the luigmuU* or by vomiting,
etc., were to be preserved, weighed and ’subsequently submitted foi
analysis. Her room, clothes, bed, etc., were subjected to a thorough
search. and fhc was always to be under dose observation in her
inter course with her parents, family and all other persom, It
cannot be questioned dim these precautions were strictly necessary
if any cosLclusion was to |>e reached which would be respected by
those—mainly nttmCathdScs—who declared her to be a vulgar
impostor. At the same time, when otic reads the chapter in
which Hr. Cerlkh sets out in the plainest icrms* the medical
details of tlic invcsrigmioTi, a irstain murgiving presents itself,
After all, one ado, what higher purpose does the dcrxmmtratbn of
this media serve 5 The Almighty cannot wish us to conclude that
pious Christian*, encouraged by ThmsuiV esample, should -arive
in live without eating, Abstemiousness carried to dm txcrxs
would not be a virtue, but a vice—a tempting of God, No doubt
it Sntpcrfses the imagination that any hulv perron should lx? so far
raised above the infirmihrs of <jnr nature as to draw all vital ejicr^y
from die Blmsed Euriuuiat alone, but unfortunately when we come
^ ® demo[utntlien of the -fact, we find ourselves forced, to inquire
ittru a number of pliy .inlogical dma, of which nice-minded people
do not ordinarily speak outside a doctor’s consulting-room. The
wry rev erence we owe to sanctity seems to deprecate our purging
such research q or subjecting ■God 1 * chosen servants to such tost*.

On ibrr other h^nd we kiion that the convulsive contraction; d
the CESophagus, die rejection from die uomach <if swallowed food,
thr loss of natural appetite (otherwiic called anorexia), etc., are
not of the*n*dvea characteristic: of moral virtue; Uvrv ire mrhrr
1 1 n- well - u ndm atood symptoms nf err irin hysterical disorders. If
Tlvera,i Neumann, r.v ultra k mentioned, cannot in her nuraud
eorua&usneu iv dlw an entire Host, hut can do ao perfect!v weH

i Ser: lists t^-riis-ti 7h.*ttu AVpiimw,. ifir
tip. mg-ji»

•n AVttttfrjuuutAj

VnL I,

^Sec. fur fluifijilr, YaL T, [i. rjy
war bcyoml ijuaii™ o^eaui y l

P' c eliTOtiidjua ofilttis 4TU.I BicuumncnO
Ish< dttaflijM for .it! l'rii.

■ r v

ijvmo without F.Armo

3^5

when she is in ecttosv , 1 ibis surety points to the fact that the iicurosea
which !■ i: several years kepi her bed-ridden, centrActed, paralysed,
blind and dcaf t have not yet nil been completely eliminated, In
the ease of several other siigrmticas Vrbo pne alleged to have lived
without food, we know thfU repeated attempt* were made (o Induce
them to take nourishment. In obedience to their spiritual three tors
or religious superiors many of them forced tlicmwives u
the food, liquid or lolich, which (van wt before diem, with the result
that ev er y thing wax almost immediately returned, the experiment
earning great discomfort and pain to die sufferer. In die live; of
St, C&lhertac of Sicuu, of Louise Lateoit, Anne Catherine Emme¬
rich, nomenka Lasttmi, and many other*, canonized and un-
cauonized, we find quite harrowing descriptions ot such scenes.
But on the other hand we have exactly similar description* uf the
same results in the case of patterns who were not religiously minded
but were simply suffering fmm anorexia and other forms of hysteria.
It may be nilhcicnt to appeal to the witnesses who were cited as
testifying to the media of Mo Hie Fane her, Mrs- Cmad, the Italian
children, etc., not to speak of the examples which ate quoted in
almost every text-book dealing with rtervmia diborders. Jiat as [
should like to hear of a stigmadca who had no bad family hikLury,
and had always herself been a thoroughly healthy suhjeci, free
from ncu/mer of any kind, so fo Iht cnmidemhle list of those holy
people w[ il■ .s:^ rirport^l to hav? Hied h i Long pa ©da with net
Other nourishment but the Blessed Saerxuneut, one looks, but Looks
in vain, for the name of one who was Cnee from arrange previous
inhibitions in the matter of diet and wlmm ilie neuropath specialist
would have pronomieed to be perfectly sound anti normal. No
comperem plivririan could possibly have said this of Louise La tea u
or Teresa Bigglnson, or Domed ea Laxzari, or Anne Catherine
Emmerich, or St. Lidwin.a of Schiedam.

There can be no thought of disputing the fact that the fortnight's
observation of Theresa Neumann has proved to the satisfaction of
all unpiejudiced person* that ihe did not during that period take
either food or drink, VVhiit is even more striking, die pronounced
of weight which ixttnrred during the Friday eexturie w,%s in
each case made good during the two or three day* which followed.
On Wednesday, July 13, 1937, thr day before the period ofobierva-

1 Or. FirtJi GctEieH f/.r- Vet, 1 , pp. 16G-7; and cf. pp. 135 atn! i6B-y' giva a
thuulrtl ilry-riptkin of llfT COmniUflioR with «l e-KtUr Heat in caUiy. llinugli A
iwo*Cai]»tic t be wu ilkwri by Wantr Nther 10 lined dome in fnmi of her ivnili
■he received. F.Urn'S*. uf tonne, wan t'Hrn itnmiiv;n ni frf hi, p r i- ^p -rri. *

:j66

THE JilVtiCAL I'HEN-QM^A m UV.mCtSM

lion bcg*n t Theresa wdghed 55 kilograms f = lh... nr ft stone

\* lb*.); r,n Saturday, July 16, :ihe weighed kilograms - nsl
il *' - Wednesday, July 20, 54 leflognaim , = uo lb'} were
recorded,, hut this ggain had fallen by the following Saturday to
p'J-i kikigT.-nns - T t5 lb.:, though on die Thursday, die final day,
it stood (dire more at 55 bogntililj just as before the eaperiment.
Thr fcxtfrrne range ofioc and gain *r*t therefore about 3 Ihs. It
i« endow dial on two occraioiu within thr fort nigh t (the 151b and
jatid' dierc i* rectml n-f natural relief to the amount of half a litre.
There wai also utt the two Fridays tome vomiting, not very con-
si tier abb. in amount, which Menu to have been due to the blood
from 1 he eyes 01 forehead run rung Into the mouth* \ T o trace of
!ix>d was discoverable in the matter thus ejected. 1

The fortnight’s observation of Theresa Neumann, which haj
dune much to confirm the belief to lies complete abstention fiorn
fhod and drink, brings to mind another similar test carried om in
mir own oruuiiiy not so many years ago, though this last unfbt-
innately had a much njurr tragic ending, in a remote pan tsf
C arman Item!lire ,1 little girl, described by all m an exceptionally
pirLtv t htl l, was '-aid to have lived for more than eighteen months
wuiiout cither eating nr drinking. In February (867 when the
dtikU extraordinary condition lint began to abort her parents
sbr was tns years old, emaciated, frail (possibly as the result of a
preview* aiEauc <>| scarlet fderi, and die victim oi strange neurotic
’™ tc - She was die daughter of a small former named Kvm
Jacob, lull the family were Welsh and spoke onlv a little EnglMi
1 nrffcr thr medical treatment of Dr. H. II. Davies who was call-d
in, du -t™ somewhat better, btit she gradually developed .1
marked svrrsimi for nny firm of mm ri shin run, Even the sight <>f
other people citing ttaused hr r dhcomfort. When food was P r^d
°P JU her, she went into what her mother called ” a fit " thtnioh

Buch ." 10 ^ “ *>«¥ ™« 1111 der thr nWartoo of others

at a Inter dolt, counted of 110 mole than .1 dtnrt period of real or
turned imooiWQOUSJicss. TV re ™ then no pallor or violent
ecinlortwm Thr chi ^ ™»plv closed her cy ra and ™ c d to pas*

i ! ' " *5* ^«mi) diih^d thm £

tnwfla tl. MiMrw* ' tm^rafuKif dunii B rh*™ Noteewusy filwZ, j
rrfiwaibw >.4. A vpi by the jinm-r oTuceiuiw* dime J ir *v, ( thm fiur,„« K?7h^
,wf '' u ' arJ < Ltw **ui nwlJi day after thr T ^v H 1

«dw vrs» rJirird .Wd |» KeSne. Thr Sufrrene- J “‘ u

U^i ih- fad itiul v^ M: j lt ,w cr-a^d S SJLW tllli

*■ rhtTrfac n’.i ...I Jorte p_ iUtn a cettc r|„ KJUC " ,p^ ^ J ob*tr'.aUM.

uvijio vvtrnoLT eatlkc

3^7

into a state of mretuibilily. Bui at die beginning the M lits '* wer c
more violent and abo more protracted. There were ;tbo cataleptic
symptom^ and a condition of opisthotonos, i.t. t die body was
toa-bed backwards, \o dial the head almost touched the feet, The
father, who WBS an ignorant man and apparently possessed of tome
strange idea that the girl’s abstinence was a manifestation of the
Divine favour, declared in 1869 that lie had taken an oath two
year* before dial hr w«mifl not offer Sarah any food until j|ir afked
b.j; it. since on a particular occasion at that date the (kin:
he pressed Ilex to cat- 1 WJvat ts certain 11 lhat when, the parents
cOijjtei ted in December 1669 to allow the child to l>c watched by
nurses, the mother expressly stipulated that the watchers were not
Ip eat in Sarah's presence, because " she would hum if there were
food in the room/' 1 In the summer of 1867 Sarah stUI openly
took a little nourishment, but in October it is stated that she. would
ttiTiaume no more than a morsel of apple J ‘ the sixe of a pii[ ,J which
sin- wok in a teAlfkpn; and shortly after this she began to refuse
everything. It is not surprising that even in a remote country
district the news of the strange care of a child living without food
d ton Ed circulate among the nriglilxuirs. Nothing how ever, at a
later date aroused so much prejudice against the Jacob family as
the belief that this curious malady had been turned in indirect
ways into a source of gain. Nevertheless, even Dr. Fowler, whose
letters to the press dkl more titan anything else tu direct attention
to what he regarded as a scandalous in i]x nature, admit* thai " we
haw no evidence during the thst linecn month* of Sara lib ilium
dthcr dial the girl was made a public: show of, or that any mutiry
whatever flowed into the pockets of the parents f' a Apart from
ihort paragraphs in the Welsh papers, die earliest commumi mi on
to the press m English seems to have been that of an Anglican
clergyman, the Rev. Evun Jorics, Vicar or Lhmfihangdstr-Aith,
whu wrote to fh: I iVhr/bmm, in a letter published Fctrmmo 59.
16691

* ■ 4 j g M tfto Oat tftkr Wikh F^&a Cut <lS?i J* p,

- n 1 ,JCI Iko-k, wriur-n 3-iy an fiiLinrnt ftlld rmpcrmiqHl itJedJcsJ Aidi] t mytn im m
pm drtail itij; dt tcmfiii from amlrtupeiuuy rtptctt. Dr. PcjhEct. where
1 ■ ; J i,r r • HMnIoI t:;! L . :! " Tf. 1 lie* t; ; r; rnmvt.i :=! Kt i;.r M

rflliHnrpiic, Do doubt presniti a perfectly hocirtC ii&farmt «f *U Iw couLJ Iqm
u. c 11 ■ ■ tiir. Sill], ln% ! * ' 'l4 in Uitnr wtih" q. prr-Miit :jjKiki|ii, for he win n
lading nwdtcal woflrsi in ihr leg*! |noeralin^t

1 P- *$w *nH' cf. p. 117. Thu iou nd 1 rkliryloitt, bin a lmiiLir hyper*
ifsijjuvoich ci teamed of iJacncjitca Ijjjrar j r •fijjlma.La wcr€ utlQktriLkW*

atity tuihcmk.

J Fowler, IFWjA Fnithj CM, p u.

3 ^ TPK PintBICAJ. J-irEitOllEJrtA or UYSTtCiSU

Allow me to invite the attention of your mules* to a meat extra¬
ordinary ome. S;uul* Jacob, a little qtrl, twelve year* of age and
daughter of M r. Fvrm Jacob, Ucthemcundd, in this parish* Kent not
pan a ken - I u single grain ol any kind 0 f food whatever during the
tail, dxtccti mouths, She did occasfo fully swallow a few drops of
■ during the first few months of this period; hut now she does
not c\pji tfo that. SiiEJ she Itxikt pretty welt in the face and con-
tinuea In pusses ion of her mental faculties. She h in this and
several other respect# ,i w on dr: Ail little girl.

I hr Vicar goes on to suggest that an <faw of the incredulous
atcii^j'lr of many tuediral men at a cfbtuncc an Investigation of the
case ought to take place. Although the response to iIjk letter was
not enthusiastic, Mr. JacoIi f the girl's father, him.'veIT pressed! for an
inquiry-, A Commit Lee wm formed and a certain number of local
people, moiih of the pewant cl jam, ugited to act as wntcheu.
The investigation which followed whs, however, of little v.dor
No attempt was made to searrii ihr U-..1 tt ,d she cupboard*, or to
exercise any control upon Sarah's intercourse with her parents ;i»ft
lier tittle sister. There were also stories of a notable neglect of
duly cm the part of some of the watchers. Certain individual*
were said to lave fallen adeep, or to have had too much to drink,
or to have neglected tu pm in an appemwacc at all, Neverthdc*
they professed to have been «tMcd that mo foo4 had been
and Oiftdc depositions to dlM affect For example;

\Yatrlicr, N,». 4 , Jamrs Harris Davies, a medical student, -poke
UI1 ,IMmiCT> arlil U ' M |*cHV;i Uy positive that nothing find been
t.vr-u in her during the foitaighl he bod much*) there, with the
^ception of three drop* . ,f water, oner, to moisten hci Ups with.
Hr was as great a sceptic os any before he commenced watching
but as he saw noth mg to ccmftnu hh sutpiciow, he could
consciciiuoudy saj nothing hud km given hrr during hi,

Witcher, No. ?, I homos Davies, who had been the greatest
' f- w * *lfonglv convinced* Me watched Sarah h lc ob
far twelve day w 4ml was quite poilive that nothing could have hern
g5vcn her during tm watch, Mr watched he. with all pn^tiblc care
and u.u, very cauiiam to I, in a prominent place, where Sarah
Jacob s month was always in sight* 1

1 Fuwkf. 11 th!, Gift, p, jj.

uvinij wmioi t iusxisn

It has, uf course, to be borne in mind that although Sarah wai
treated m. an invalid, and seems for two years to have remained
LOELtinuously in bed, there h no evidence that she -was really parti*
U sed and incapable of movement* The invEuigaiinn in the spring
oi 1B69 must have helped m advertise (be alleged marvel of the
child who lived without eating Rem/ii: as the form was, curious
visitor* conic in considerable numbers. 1 1'hev found 8 very preiiv
little girl* reclining on her back, fancifully dressed, crowned wjiii
ft wealli anti decked m all sorts of gay ribbons, who smiled upon
them and wa* very pleased to be admired. She imd a. little library
or pious to k whfeh hud been given her, and she delighted to
show her skill in reading out of them aloud to such as would lifiten.
But it was not only books which were presented to her* Not a few
of those who came felt that it would be the proper thing to leave a
shULing or half a crown behind in acknowledgment of the privilege
of admission to this c harmin g Spectacle* When they offered money
to the father, lie demurred, but he said at die same time that a
gjft might be made to lia little daughter; and Indeed there seems
often to have been a receptacle lying on her breast into which
silver could be put*

1 his could not go on long without its attracting some attention
in scientific cinder The above-mentioned Dr. Robert Fowler,
Vke*Priss£dcm of the Hunterian Society, who had fri end* m South
%%ales, paid a visit to Sarah Jacob on August 30, riUkf, &co .m*
panied by his host* a solicitor who was resident not far off* Both
gentlemen were ( c-uvirjceif ihat the plump and smiling little person
who glanced about her to slyly out of the corners of her eves could
uni for two years pwt hove been living upon air. Or. Fowler
accordingly addressed a strong protest to Tfo Tuner giving a detailed
account of Lb visit,* and the cfleet of this Idler eventually was that
n new committee was appointed to arrange for a redly rrienrific
investigation of the alleged phenomenon. It is important to note
(Iot 1 he parents, from the first, teem to have raised no sort of
difficulty. Considering the extremely limited accommodation oT
their wretched one-storied dwelling—Dr. Fowler's book provides
.1 photograph :md .1 plan——it would liavc Iktu cosy for them to
plead that a fortnight's observation by nurses wliu were to remain
with the girl continually would be impossible. Moreover, it was
December, and the pbi c was horribly cold and damp* Foui

/ tlv nfATCil raitvriy Uituir. Ixlyi n-.-S res. tsanp ahtuu enrranif earth nucriM
FiJhn * ^ r[ - r«., and they uflcrol l» twl u guklr* lu ike br .•*,*, fl**. j,, ^

1 Ktprintol in Thr r«rwi tor Scpr. 7,

137° PiivaiovL pftSHoui&tfA of mysticism

mi] otic of tiicid 4 V3 ckii gul spcjikjuij Wdiji, were ptoeLtmi
from Guv 5 HospitaL A code uf imlructiom wa*. uj,iLed u> than
in which the point more ipeclsUy insiited ivwi thru “ they

w«e there to see whether food wul> given to the girl. Thev were
not themid ves to offer her food, but to give food if she + tskcd for
it."’ This was aba repeated to them endb in the presence of the
father. On this occasion the whole room, with it* cupboards, etc.,
v..Oi thoroughly turned out* the bed examined and re-made by the
nur^. and the child hcradf w:« stripped and re-clothed in her
nightdress* Tile fuir nursn, relieving each other in pairs after
debt hours on duty, v.rrr supposed to be acting in conc ert with,
and in 5uL>ortIiiiaiiufL to, a committee of doctor*, one of whom ™
to visit the house daily. Uiifbittmately thk pari of the arrant
merits had not been fully thought out. Our or two doctor? were
namc^i without their consent having previously been obtained, and
the reader gets the impression dial these medical visits were very
haphazard and were carried out without any Individual wnrnigst
diem .Lmnning full direction and responsibility.

F<n thr lira few lay* all went well. The child herself was in
iugh vpmts; die seemed physically well nourished and wn 4 liee
from bed-sores. Throughout die inquiry there is no suggestion or
■my dibit having been made by the parents to evade the control
or Lo try tu lure the aw,i> from thr post of duty: neither

™ fitflc Sa ™ h *™ to attempt to get out of hrd. Asked if
she was in pain, she invariably mid No. On more than one
occasion nature was relieved, and the cldld had to be moved while
Tf,r bedding was changed. After line, ,. r four dav*. however
Conditions changed eomklrrsbly for the worse. The period uf
observation had begun no rhnraday, December 0, iB6q, AI 0
p tn. on the follow ing fuoday she had a pulse of i^.p bur Dr
Huy hr-, who then visit- j brr, said diet " being a hysterical child
he did not think so badly of iu'" On the nest day, Wednesday, as
the ntmes recorded, die had dept little, her eye* were sunken .md
I I3C tiase pinched; die was resiles* and utiahje ir> read. Still, Di
Lewis who visited her made the following entry in the nurses*
diary Hrc. 15, Wednesday. Dr. I-cwh vsited and found Sarah
Jacob m usual, pulse tao. Skin warm on right hand She k not
vrj flush H as trn the fint day of watching She savs die has no
p.iiii and is placid."* On Thu tidily at n a.iri. die Vicar called
Tlit child's eunditiem alarmed him and he piupoard tltat th r ltst
should cut! and the nurva be Hismj *d; Dr. Davies, however, thr

1 lavvttf. Jta+juf litri, p, (Sf

LIVING WITHOUT EATT5J0

Erm ,d mi'chcnl j aw-ho hilt] attended lice v riginnlly anj ^ctti her
at infemik for the lets* two years, wi* of opinion that there was itg
ttetofcr 1 On that Thursday afternoon txHh parent* were told
tn,ii iji thr opwinn txj tht mfTjf' the child wag " threatening to si nk”
hti! the father avert-' I that he had J ‘ seen her a* bad or worse tkaii
tli.it, ! idurr,*’ lijuI he w.u opposed to rho suggestion that the wjtch
■ lioali! lie yiven tip, 1 The child herwdf at no monicitt during these
d^ht day* cK|irrt\eil any desire for (bod or drink. At ten o'clock
on ihe Thursday evening shr bcotne very roiji-s and the nurses
thought she was sinking. The next morning, Friday, ihe denied
to low the power of speech, and about three p.m. she died,

AU through the country die watch uminmined in the j mm of
die 11 VVekh basting tiirl " had hrxn a conspkuuus item on the news
pbpanls, and when die pitiful climax v. n readied there vra* a
violent Otrtbwst of feeling. Every leader-writer and every man in
the irrri wa. certain that sonie!>otfcy was guilty of murder und
uli ght lo t*e criminally | JioseeiUed, but no two persona could agree
in deciding wills whom the guilt precisely rested Some said it
•a-L i the doctors, son v- '-aid it was the parents, gome said it was die
rutracs 01 thr Governor* of Gtiy’-t Hospital, aomi.' said it was those
wlrn had insisted an such an invmigation bring tamed out, some
said it was the police or the nilfckl* of the Home Office who had
not intervened in time to prevent the catastrophe. A postmortem
was made of the poor dulcf* body, and three medical men oNiigh
standing found proof, as tilery believed, that previously to the
corning ol the nurses little Sarah Jacob must have Wit taking
nrmrr>hmcEU by stealth or otherwise. 1 here was no emaciation;
on the contrary iht-y reported that “a couskI enable laver of su b-
cutaurens fat was cur through' m making die section from die
thrill to the abdomen, There were farces in the bawd, ami the
stomach was not notably contracted, Oft die other hand the
principal iKgons—lungs, heart, kidneys, etc.—were quite healthy,

1 IPS ** **“ « ,nlk *l mm whrr. Examined in court hardly

rfj'hii .1, ilta i ftrt'f rlii- ™ i __L S_I .■

■ ll.c fdthrr tfcckmj ..It Il«.„ I™ ,„ : t JW. “ u.kl ,| a( u«

-,S? /*“' " "'•ft* ft? *«!» «• *• ««»

37* THE PJFYAtKAI PttEKOlTEWA OP MVCTlrjsu

and the autopsy proved that there wa* nothing which could cause
physical olj4trucU0ft to the passage of food and iu waste products.
Already the Daily Jftm t cm Thursday, December ibth, had pro-
Tested against features that went" almost grotesque in the proceed*
ingg which are taking place at the bedside of a Uttle girl in Wale*":

The latest report is time at \ tie close of ih-. fifth day of the v.itching*
the girl had actually faswd, and was very weak and ill. This would
iron to be so natural a mult of five days' fasting that the wonder
seems to be that the nurses do not at once persuade her Lo ta k*
sntue Homtshment, Suppose the poor girl has hitherto been fed
unconsciously to herself and Is too weak to desire Food, or too languid
to cxprcij a wish lor it, i!t“ mult or this telling may si. tup I \ Ik:
Unit she will be starved to death, Marlyr of science, or victim of
superstition, which will this poor girl lie if she should die under the
eyes of these nurses, and die of Starvation? Probably the persons
concerned have already ascertained what thrir ted position would
be in such a case.

On the very morning of Sarah’s death Tht Leant was " able to
declare, tin good authority, that no confidence can be place-!
the statements nude regarding the Welsh fasting girl, since the
doctnt* and nurses are hound to divulge nothing limit the muuiry
Jjiu tcrmnuui L" Hut the medical | umal adds: 1 Of course
everj^ precaution ha- t*rn taken in the event of the girt showing
lympLutm of exhaustion, and the tiiiraes have special i 115true rioru
t0 a V mjnis<J?r ’dmul.ints ^nd lloxl, ntiijeirt 10 tis- advice nl the daily
medical attendant." AH die same a fatal terminal]- n w» readied
on that sain* Friday afternoon, and the jury, al the inquest which
tolfmcd, brought in a verdict that Sarah Jacob had <S died from
stirrv.nifni caused from negligence on Lhr part of die finhrr to
induce the child to take rood/'

The feding throughout the country wot inch that the legal
adwscri oJ 1 lie Grown fell bound ro lake action, Aecurdinp;!y five
c>r the medical men who had been connected with the case, as wi4l

? ST E t Va f aTlc * were all charged with man¬

slaughter before the magistral m of Carman Jienshire, the indictment
tttating that " you did Iclnukrtisly kill and day one Sarah Jacob, of
Lie th emeu add aforesaid, against the peace of our Lady the Quttou
her Crown and dignity, and contrary to the statute in that case
made and provided/* The proceedings excited immense fcitcrm
in ihr f7Mps%, infl the Court in which the tnagutratei met
* was crowded id suffocation. After n padem hearing and much

LIVING WITHOUT EATWO

373

legal argument, die drrfton were discharged! but Jacob and hij
wife were committed for trial.

At Carmarthen, on July 53, 1870, the trial ram* on. before Mr.
Justice Karmen (afterwards Lord Hanueji); while Mr. H. C.
Cilia id, QXL, who later on wtvj better blown as Lord Chancellor
Halsbury, conducted the prosecution for die Crown* Without
making any reflection upon die pet feet good faith of either thr
prosecuting counsel or the presiding judge, II dunk si may he vdd
that justice was meted out 10 Jacob and his wife in tr uth™ liarsh
measure, After a merciless *u miring up by the judge, strongly
adverse to the prisoners, the jury returned a verdict oi guilty. The
hir. band was accordingly sentenced to twelve months' hard labour
.trul the wife to six. Iwasi Jacob was already a ruined man, The
coats 1 >f ihr defence had swallowed up every penny he possessed.

The case present! many feature* which are extremely puzzling.
What it mo*t certain of all is that the father and mother, even if
tlury had hnen utterly inhuman patents—ami every sera;) o! evi-
deuce Suggests on die contrary ihai they were devoted to dtrir
daughter and humoured all her wlums—had the strongest reasons
for wishing to preserve the life of the child, if only m a sourer i »f
income* T cannot doubt that they had really persuaded them¬
selves that she somehow lived without food. UnfuminMeiy, in a
short chapter it is impossible to give details, but thr. oalh which,
as they declared, they both had taken never .xguin to press her to
eat, must have been founded upon the experience they had had at
the beginning of her illness two yean before! when, a* die mother
said, the very sight r»; food brought on an attack, which at that
dale was of a very alarming nature. Oft the day of- her death.
Dr. Davies, ihe only medical tiuin who had licm a witness to those
early seizures, derided r„?f to attempt to give her nourishmmt,
though he had the father's permission trj do so. He thought,
apparently, that slue was now 1 too weak, anti that the shock of trying
to force food upon her would extinguish prematurely the frail
spark o' life winch remained. What is more, it Atemh in zne mint
probable that Sarah herself in her normal personality v.^ cem-
vinccd she cook no food. She tiiii not show die slightest reluctance
to submit to the new and more rigid inquiry* Not one uf the
tnmei was conscious nf any trace of resentment in the child's man*
tier. She iva$ not detected in any trick. 1 am therefore inclined
to suggest that she was able to live with rxinmrtlinarBy little
nourishiTirm , and that when she swallowed fond, another fun*
detected) personality had supervened -thr four intermiitcnt ■

37*

Tin: pirrncAL Phf.™.mena op munrjiu

Fnndirr will perfc™ be &c*h in the radetfe
^B^ry-of whose p™sd«re the normal xtf had m koQwkdgn.
V **i7k ™ Ntl ^ anri m rcjLiii V can .wallet* the ij.>;t which

^ hcT 1,1 state, «, poor

Sardi Jacob, in another personality, may haw been able to tX

foo«i^ilhotu difficulty. I he unwonted condition! created by the
constant presence of two nurses, or by the absence of tlir Jiulr

^ lh,r pcnod <* observation the secondary personality did

TIk case of poor Hide Sarah Jacob recounted above does not bv

J*** been many chi id tTc^nd
though most of them lived two or three centuries ago, some were

"‘ inra , lm " a " C “ whlch makcU c ™«tlt I® maintain that

^i tiTt o f A^’ y ’ pr 7f’ t ' 0, ’ c af ^ ”»< EUtSw examples

, of Jean God&m< of \ auprofonde n«u Sent, in Fnuu» He

£® «d of .Goa, or mrlv in

pneumonia on April t6 , ,fi, 6 . The caw: attracted a twdehsU rf

7 “ ^f a 1 '“ c u *“ “ken up by Vt. Sim™ d= iw^mbfra
.vlio enjoyed the title of mddeefc du r„v," and mi in much Sfa
mmiy cbsuiiBUMhcd people. An account „fde I'rovrmchtrcs, as au
wunent physnaan and «u: ffl h® found in Michaud’s Oi«.

fi g* l ; t ™* When the Child died, the doctor published !

mnmhl .'' ,,ich went ‘''rough four editions in a few

months. There had evidently been much talk previously about
the raseng Iwy for he wu taken to be skOwnls the Duke de
Mtmtmorenei, Coanolilc ajf France, sometime before vise latter 1 *
drat , fa 16,4. ami shortly afterwards he and il tnl c ""
similarly summoned [u Satisfy the curiosity of the Duke de VmtfaS
(»n of Hem, IV) , n d ft large company. He had £» |£»*S
homainchleau, and had there been inspected hi the Queen Mother
(NIant de Mecbci) and iter little sot, Loo is Mill. I do not knmv

iii.il flat notoriety affords any guarantee against {***« .,__

must have had the effiect or maim; those imungst XThetWed

" 7 1 * *° w, y of fboti hy smith

OTMi de Pfovjinchisfiss muis have realized that if f. . m i C j.'

covered, hu own i r pi i union in endorsing the ttmivel ***
wits bound to luflrr t^riairlcrabiy. gfcJiiitBG

LIVING WITHOUT EATiWG

375

tn the little treatise which contains this history 1 there La much
more space devoted to theorizing, in accord with obsolete mediea]
aalajjU) than i f givcji to ihe <rvnlcjirc nf theta. At (he same time
the am hot dearly munifat* lib conviction that the boy had lived
h>a mure than four yean Without eating or drinking, and also his
sense that this was an astounding marvel which could not be
credited without (UU investigation. He had the child to stay with
him in his house at Sens on five JifFiutnt nctMDiu, And during
these vbits nothing suspicious was discovered; but the time there
spent seems to have been relatively brief, ami on the only visit of
which any detail is given hii stay lasted hut five days, Jean’s
bcluaviour •* cm at first to have been shy and rather uncouth, but
the doctor ireared him tactfully, ami before lung the lad felt at
home in lib new fiirroundmgs. It is stated that he resented the
very eight of food and it made him irritable to be questioned about
hia not eating,* There were also curium famira in rhe case. No
aigns of emaciation wet* discernible, and, though not very intelli-
gcut* Jean wim physically active and was inteioted in any it range
thing* which were drown him, M. dc Provandifrts avers that for
nunc than four years there were no excreta of any sort, hut one
wonders bow tic could make sure of tills. On the other hand,
during Lhb period the boy fell ill, and for fifteen months was eW
fined to bed* but at the cud of this Interval, on Low Sunday, 1614,
ht suddenly got np without the help nf anyone. There 'was no
■.jmc in the boose 4t the lame but hi* little sister, and the rim off in a
to idl her mother, who was visiting a neighbour. After that
date, huwtver, Jean wont about freely and had no relapse. Wc .ire
rs'cn (■ ■ US diriL in his fatherh company he mode hii way from
'auprot nde jtiigny, si disUUtte of ,+ troll prtites lieues ”^*hall
wc say six -1 i vrn mile, >— though be was not carried by his
lather, and I tad no Ije.ait to ride upon.

Li Lite Jean Codean died, jw said above, In April 1616, Just three
weeks before, he had been Itroiigbi by liii father to see M. dc
Provancherts- Though be had yiowri very little, lie was remark¬
ably full of life and vigour, and went about everywhere On hii

Iftldatit 4/ VlnappilMvt J'crt Enfant Jr* tWi pyfmlt prrt £nu it tm drrdtftwrt it
*%* tl & «Ur pufm mt n*cr mm, d A 1a M«rt Pm; Simfaa dc Pm inchtnn
J QuairnTmc EdUitUl, Snu, ttnfij.

1 rn hii narrative de Prwrocbltftt docribei him m " *ntn* (l»m lUrwaia m
Ki Jiormir au lU ieide parolk dc manger il K Hutton m dttifffi « davertwair
2™ 1 iic djam <1 m rn partci.cm.' r r fe,!. 41 fi 1, Thi. mi B h t, of ratine, have

teen * bu (it amof, fun the obstruction iIlicov^ mi the pou-inurirm ninalic*
awiiT> Ddlurnl Cijatanitkia, ispeciftElv wIkji vrt remember that ihe child vru
S-lil:k and rUbcr ilupid-

37^ THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OP UYSTlCttU

return home he seems to have caught a dull- In the burning fever
of his hut illness he would put his lips to a vessel of water to cool
them but he drank nothing. M. de Provanchthcs was unfortu¬
nately prevented from being present at the autopsy which was
performed after the boy's death. He tells us, however, that it was
made by very skilful surgeons, and he quotes in some detail the
results communicated to him. According to this account the
surgeons discovered that the upper portion of the oesophagus was
constricted in such a way dial nothing could pass into the stomach.
Strangely enough, they declared that the other extremity of the
alimentary canal was similarly compressed so that no waste pro¬
ducts of digestion could liave found an outlet.* Even supposing
that these observations were quite accurate, we do not, of course,
know how long this condition of things had been in existence, but
it can hArtily have supervened suddenly at the very end, and its
presence would fully account for the child's inability to take any
form of nourishment. We have also to remember that however
backward medical science may have been in the seventeenth cen¬
tury so for as regards the treatment of disease and the theories
formulated, the surgeons of that day were very good anatomists.
Subjects for dissection were easily obtainable, and the very fact
that the pathology of the period was so unsatisfactory would lutvc
led students to pay more attention to that form of experimental
investigation in which there was really something exact to be
learned. In any case death does not seem to have come to little
Jran (Jodeau from lack of food, but from a form of inflammation
which in our own day still proves fowl to thousands and thousands
of well-nourished people in the very prime of life. It may be
interesting to print in a footnote the Latin inscription which Dr.
de Provxnc.hires composed for a monument, set up apparently at
his own expense in die city of Sen*.* One thing seems certain.

1 " On coraid/rrra fort pnrtiaili^mncnt l‘ir»ophJUfc. qui rtt le p*tta#c Icqud
de U bouche portc ralirornt dedam I'eitomacb. 11 cstoit reaerr* et cnnjnnro*
ven la partie uxprrimir de IViumdur tie quatrr pcrincta de doipa (|* restc du
canal law he et ouvcft ); airui rim ne pouvoit *e trommettre par eelte voie
I'atornach." The bowel ww also obstructed. *' par r r qur I'mintm m cert
cndsoitcuiut feet pnai et »aru apparent* de divtuun. aiant autant d’eitrnduf en
son merrancnt que ecUr qu'avom reprocmi-c cy tlewm A I'enmSe <j<r fottonhaire M
ff- S4*-S5»-

•Joanne* Godeau, e Valle Profunda prope Scnonas. in aqru vill* rrru novr
infra d'-unum aetata tux aimum, abolitn mrr.nnu amtn, <juem natura coniecit
in o* venmeub, appefrre et dbo potuque uti dam. alimcmi info recordation* ocr-
• * K,fTQCa t> - ^ 00 ,M P° rc “hd * veaica, nihil ab alvo exerrtum. Sic visit
innocent prodigroae anno* quatuor tnmse* undream, itantc (quod m j r ^ ^

living without eatiko 377

both from this inscription and from the whole narrative, viz., that
for nearly five years before his death the child was universally
believed to take neither food nor drink. The physical compression
of the oesophagus which caused this disinclination must already
have begun to make itself* felt, and even if he did obtain some
nourishment by stealth the quantity must have been very small.
Nevertheless, just as in the case of little Sarah Jacob, there were
no signs of emaciation. M- de Provanchires seems rightly to y
stress upon this fact as something very surprising. Is it possible
that in the course of a century or two the views now prevalent with
regard to nutrition and metabolism may be revolutionized by dis¬
coveries as far-reaching in their consequences as those of Sir J. J.
Thomson, Rutherford, Planck, and Herta concerning the constitu¬
As already stated, examples of children alleged to have lived
without eating or drinking are numerous, and in some of these
cases there seems to have been really effective observation and
control. Of Apollonia Sehreicr and Margaret Seyfrit an account
has already been given above 1 and I have also referred in the same
chapter to the memorial drawn up in the eighteenth century'at the
instance of Prosper Lambcrtini (Pope Benedict XI\ ) by the
medical faculty of Bologna, in which, while fully recognizing the
likelihood of imposture, credulity and mal-obscrvation, the doctor*
consulted still uphold the genuineness of certain well-attested
examples of long abstinence from food though no supernatural
causation could be reasonably supposed. This memorial, which
Benedict XIV printed as an appendix to liis great work on Beatifi¬
cation and Canonization, cannot be regarded as wholly out of
date, for Dr. A. Corradi, the editor of an authoritative scientific
periodical of Italy, the Annalx UnwtmH di Mcdiana, described it m
1880 os “ bella e sever* dissertazionc." It would, however, be
superfluous to cite other in*ranees such as that of Maria Jchnfeb
(eighteenth century) or of Catherine of Schmidwciler (sixteenth
century), etc., for no fuller information is accessible to me than in
the case of those prev iously dealt with.

•Strpp. 35fl<i _ _ _

dtni~uiLim cxtmu.it>. omnium poruuro compare cl nnictur*. Otui*
uillammaitcme pulmot.urn, menu* Apnb die 16. amu itiifi,

Inipoauil vue naiura. ntc ullum
Absque abo ft DOtu viverf powe tulit
Hi* wv*. qui vita Scnimum frwmitf tu qio,

Codiu* unu* ttdnt, rca nova, mira m«gu.

Fit via nulla <ibo. cxcrnvrruld nulla rciicla,

Cauta rn tanue qua: daiui. ipar Dcm.

378 THE PHYSICAL PIT1LNOUK1A OP MYSTICISM

Let us rather turn to an example nearer home, though this is
not concerned with a child, but with a very old woman. In the
book. Tours in Wales, of the famous Welsh antiquary, Thomas
Pennant, the author, speaking of Barmouth in Merionethshire,
describes how, on July »8tb, 1770, he rowed up the estuary to land
near Dolgclly, and at a farm called Taddyn Bach ;

Found the object of my excursion, Mary Thomas, who was
boarded here, and kept with grea t humani ty and neatness. She was
of the age of forty-seven, of good countenance, very pale, thin, but
not so much emaciated as might have been expected,... her eyes
weak, her voice low. She is deprived of the use of her lower
extremities, and quite bed-ridden; her pulse rather strong, her
intellects clear and sensible. On examining her, she informed me
that at the age of seven, she had some eruptions like the measles,
which grew confluent and universal.. .. After this she was seized, at
spring and fall, with swellings and inflammations, during which
time she was confined to her bed; but hi the intervals could walk
about, and once went to Holywell, in hopes of cure.

When she was about twenty-seven years of age she was attacked
with the same complaint, but in a more violent manner, and during
two years and a half remained insensible, and took no manner of
nourishment, notwithstanding her friends forced open licr mouth
with a spoon, to get something down; but tlu: moment the spoon
was taken away, her teeth met and closed with vast snapping and
violence; during that time site flung up great quantities of blood.

She well remembers the return of her senses, and her knowledge
of everybody about her. She thought tlial site luid slept but a
night, and asked her mother whether she had given her anything the
day before, for she found herself very hungry. Meat was brought to
her; but so far from being able to take anything solid, she could
scarcely swallow a spoonful of thin whey. From this' time, she
continued seven years and a half without any food or liquid, except¬
ing sufficient of the latter to moisten her lips. At the end of this
period, she again fancied herself hungry and desired an egg. of
which she got down the quantity of a nut kernel. About thistime
she requested to receive the sacrament; which she did by having
a crumb of bread steeped in the wine. She now takes for her daily
subsistence a bit of bread weighing about two penny-weights seven
grains, and drinks a wine-glass of water; sometimes a spoonful of
wine, but frequently abstaining whole days from f IKK h anil liquid.

. She sleeps very indifferently; the ordinary functions of nature are

Li VINO WITHOUT KATIN G

379

very small and very seldom performed. Her attendant told me
that her disposition of mind was mild, her temper even; that she
was very religious and very fervent in prayer. 1

The next mention I have been able to find of Mary Thomas
belongs to a period thirty-two years later, and occurs in the account
of a visit paid to her by an artist of that date, James Ward, a
famous animal painter, who was elected an Associate of the Royal
Academy in 1807 and R.A. in t8tt. He seems to have lieen
making a tour in Wales, and after reading Pennant s book found
that the fasting woman there spoken of was still living. With
some difficulty he discovered her whereabouts, but in his short
interview with her he was considerably iiampered by his ignorance
of Welsh anti by the difficulty of finding a satisfactory interpreter.
Still, he satisfied his curiosity, and in the account he subsequently
published he wrote as follows:

At this lime Mary Thomas was of the age of seventy-seven [iic ]:
tranquil, collected and resigned, Uirough the medium of my
interpreter, she freely answered the following questions.

" Do you abstain from every kind of food ? "

*• Yet"

" Are there any evacuations ? **

" None at alL"

•' Do you ever attempt to swallow ? **

'* Y«, but my stomach throws up whatever 1 take immediately."

'* Have you much pain ?**

** For two years l have never been without it, but I am now
free from it."

She put my hand upon her chest, which produced the sensation
of its being placed on a skeleton. Her legs and thighs were quite
useless and doubled under her, her arms were drawn up towards her
shoulders at an acute angle... I was infurmed that during a period
of ten years ... she had been in a state of torpor, unconscious of
her own existence, and that during this long interval she took no
sustenance of any kind.

Mr. Ward adds further:

At this time 1 met at Sir Robert Vaughan’s the Rev. Mr. Lloyd,

*T. Pennant, Tcuti ui If 'Ms (edition of tH8j), Vd II, pp.
book was lint published in 1778-01.

me 1‘iiriai- puino m eh a or myth cbm

3 &>

ulv) inLmted rue that tie had often administered the sacrament iu
Mary T 1 luma*, and that mi these occasions tie always foil ml her
religious feeling m> exalted, and her mind co uncommon us 1 l> raise
his admiration and respect. Aj Far* indeed. a* I could judge, piety
and re:) li nation v. ere the prominent feature* of her character. 1

How far Mr l ah place confuicner in these statement* is a matter
very difficult to determine. On tlie one hand it is plain that when
n-c are dealing with a bed-ridden woman in this condition, tlutae
wluu tended lire must have known whether she wa,i supplied with
nourishment Os mot, mid whetltci there was anything which gave
proof uF the passage of food. On (he other hand we are bound
Hi smpo ■ .a tendency to r-ny (Jim art invalid who took very Hide,
ate nothing at fell* Mr, James Ward remained sufficiently long
with the MitTcrrr to complete a crayon sketch of her which is
reproduced in the thin folio volume lie luHsetpteiuly published.*
It was probably tliia personal contact with Mary Thomas which ted
James Ward a year or two later i it lake much interest in the rate
of another alleged fasting woman, Ann Moore, of Tut bury, to whom
reference was made above.* Like many others among Ills con*
tempiJTTJtriri, the Royal Academician t influenced, no doubt, by tils
previous experience, made no difficulty about accepting this im-
pcatur's claim to liave lived without nourishment. lhit before the
final exposure of her fraud, hr managed in the year 1807 to pay
Mary Thomas a second visit, Taking a young friend with hini
on tfsir- occasion, he tell* Us dul at Dolgctty they had comiderabk
difficulty in Finding anyone to show liirrn the way to her cottage.
Eventually they - true acrmi iui old man who acted aj. a guide to
visitors wIiip tame tr» climb Cadrr Idris- He brought them m the
house, and there he saw Mary Thomas once more, " little chnugrd,
though she was Lying In a new position* She declared she could
nut long. On asking her If she did not wish to Ixr released by
death, die replied with calmness: 1 When it h the will of God V‘
Mr. Ward then continues:

The persons about Her, who were not the -ame undiir wbrsc care

1 Want, twii of Mipj TTwhtoj, efc., y. tf,

* Tbf full till' uf this 1* Ao'VHl i'" .W«7 Thirim 1 if /L-,j*a/r m Sff*ir itt*"¥ rt
*sJ tffAia \f»*t *f Tu&inp, hy James Wild* R_A. iLcitvhm, tttij;. The bq<£
tl (Jniinaleii f£» Jrmsjjh £t*ofci, fmadenl of ihe Royal Soeielv, wha wu ■ pul
[UUTQH u 1 <■ inin r, i. wtU as & nnlW W of ni rim.

* See (3 jt»t ,

uvntts wmtoUT tATtw

a 8i

the was at tny fcumC visit in 1802, could give me but LUiIe cuis-
fretory information respecting her early history. J pressed upon
them the cireumstaneca formerly tinted to me* all of which they
cumjboaalcti, particularly the ten years of torpidity, and they were
convinced that she received no sustenance during that period.
They admitted, however, that she did now make an effort,
occasionally, to swallow a bit of bread, 0111I drink a little water.
But the quantity taken did not exceed one ounce of bread in a
fortnight, and one winogl&es of water, token at internals in minute
quantities; and even this did not remain in hrf stomach. Every
effort to swallow produced tickncaai and whatever site took into her
ttomarh, was gtmmtfy rejected immediately, or mm remained more
than ten minutes.

Mr- Ward also cafik acton an old man, Lewis Evans, who had
known Mary Thomas for fifty yeanu He declared that the eijeura-
itanca above related were ilrictly true, explaining, however, that
“ ,l lf had been very long in die itote in which I saw her, but that
custom had *0 blinded curiosity that she was lit dr regarded by the
neighbours,* ‘

The bonk written by James Ward was on the point of appearing,
when news came to him of (he rigorous test to which the pretension*
of Ann Moore had been subjected. 1 nder dear, ntam-alian ihc
broke down no the ninth day of this survdlhmce t and made a dean
breast of the whole imposture, attempting no disguise as to the
money site liad gained by it Mr. Ward, who had coupled her
ease with that of Mary Thomas, was plainly much dirt r (leerted,
and |jefi)rc liis book was aiimnily put in ctmifatiun be added Lhc
fn I Cowing note:

The case of Mary Thomas which forms the hist fKin of the
preceding pages, is, by the confession of Atm Men re, rendered at
least doubtful; and, I am sorry to ndd, that a fuU and satisfactory
development of die particular* is prevented by her [Mary Thomas's]
death, which occurred some time in the last year. But it duo not
fallow as a natural consequence that Mary Thomas must be an
impostor because the Tutbury woman ha* confessed her guilt. The
whole tenor nf her conduct, with the absence of obvious motives
for the prat-rive nt fraud, do yet give a degree of authenticity to her
history. I laving, however, Ijeen so fur deceived by the plausibility
MnA earnest asseveration of Aim Moore, ! feel that the evidence irt
favour of Marv Thomas has been much weakened, <

3B2 PinTiL^AL m^ouEN'A or uvmcmc

The esses '.vetr, in hict, very different, Ann Mnore %va,v .t
woman of loose character, who had a eonfcdexair in the daughter
who was living with her, and who made a good deni of money by
the fraud she practised. Nothing of the sort c id be affirmed of
Mary Thomas, ,Shr dwell too far aw ay from any centre of popu¬
lation to attract a notable stream of VttitOrx Til ere is. not the
slightest hint of any pecuniary advantage which accrued tti her,
and her age and infirmity precluded her from taking an active
pmt i:i any irickcry, Her storv in stimr respects presents a re¬
markable parallel to those of Molltc Fandier and Mrs. Croid,
Which have been discussed enrlirx in ihctt pages. J hr reader
may remember that both these afflicted neLir;ii theme*, white
remainii i p prisoners in bed for many years, are stated by ihi ,-ir in
attendance to have eaten practically nothing. Whim anting of
Moltie Fancher, I had not come across die booklet of Dr. W H,
Hammo nd, Fartkg Girts* thttr Phjriotv&r Ptitfoti.i'y Ww York,
1879), in which the writer, described as 11 Professor of Disease! of
ihr Mind and Nervous System in the Medical Department nf the
Vtwttiiivy of the City of New York, and in the University of
Vermont, eicl", jet out to crush and extinguish by force of ridicule
die contention advanced in certain newspaprn that Mis* MolUe
Paucher lived without taking food. This dfattngnkhed phyridan,
the author of many works on mental disorder*, ka-i devoted a
chapter in a previous book of his 1 to the subject of** Fatting Girli
So when the strange case of Mollie Fancher came to be exploited
hy certain New York journals. Dr. Hammond at mice plunged
into tlie fray, and in the superior tone of the scientific expert -this
was, it will be remrmliercd, the age of Hualey and Tyndall-*
denounced the absurdity of thole who believed that anyone could
lise without eating. In hU attack upon Drs. Spdr, Onnukuq and
the others who proclaimed their belief that Mti, Fntuber actually
t4>ok no food or next to not him-, he ha* occasion to idle the reporter
of Thr Sun, a New York journal which bad obtained an interview
wirh the physician* in qucsiinn, Through this channel wt ]-. irr|
tlLit this newspaper had recorded on November 24, ^

opininu% expmsed by Dr, S, Meet Sprir ,;nd by Dr Otmbtan in
the following t*rtto To Dx, Spcir the question was put:

M Is it true that die has not partaken nf f<„Kj in &H ihrse thirteen
years? "

1 the votuo* m qu it ion ii Sfrriii itim ai./ ■/ r. M 4

■/ Mmd • N ^ \*tk, Vu Lnun, c H ;C, *****

EEMBfg wfmout KATum 383

No, I cannot say that she has not ; I have not been conjointly
with her for ihirtecn ’/can;she may have taken food in my absence.
Her friends have used every device to make her take nourishmenL
Food ha* hern forced upon her, and artificial means fi tve t>ccn
reaortrd to that it might be carried to her stomach. Nevertheless
the amount in the aggregate mast have been very small in all these

yean.

You have coe metered the case of such extraordinary importance
a* to take many physicians to sec it? "

" l have, ami 11 ha* excited very much of attention, I have
Setters about it from far and near, and the medical journals have
asked Fo r in fauna lioru 11

Similarly wr leant from the same journal that Dr Ormistoo,
who had been one of Miss Panther’* physician} from the lint, and
who bad vbited her in all the phase* of her tong illness—

Said that he vms convinced that there could be no deception.
Hr could find no motive for it, and he did not believe she had
attempted it* ,V> to for hoi partaking of Food, he had, with Dr.
Spdr, made tests that satisfied him that she ate no more than she
pretended to, and in the aggregate it hail not, in all these yean,
amounted to more than the quantity cairn at a single meal by a
healthy man. *

^Micn we remember titat in spite of Dr, Hammond V tirade the
two physician* heir interviewed stood to their gun* and fourteen
years Inter, list tug remained in attendance upon the cm during
the ioiervriung period, teatlinncd the same conviction , 1 we coo
hardly doubt that they were thoroughly in earnest. They foul
been ctmrinuou iy in contact with tlic afflicted girl, they knew for
character, her helpless condition and the integrity of those who
waited upon her. Di. Hammond had never *tu eyes upon Mis*
Rancher and was arguing only from principles which Jrd him to
proefoim that Louise Lateau and all the other Catholic mystics
who were believed 10 live within food were either mendadou* or
sdf-dcluded.

Hie case* ol Marie furl net, Janet McLeod, and Josephine
Durand air, to my thinking, exceptionally convincing.* Even if

[ w. A, fUmidood, Fmivtf thiv PK^tiaUiy m=f [ Putnam, NW

V ak. I@75) h pp 53-*.

1 Set pp. iOo-r,

* Soc pp. 353-6- *

3^4 WVUCAJ. Pi!E>fOUTVA OJf MVST3C13¥

wc. allow &B soap etaggcwUat* it Rei* that wc m fenced te
Admit that quite li nmulicr of people in whoie cn^c do miraculous
biicrvcntion can be iiippuicd, have Jived fiat ytan upon si pittance
oT uourbhEitg food which cuuJd be measured only by ounces, and
upon ibis evidence wc shal l be forced to adroit the jtiitnes* of the
conclusion of Pope Benedict XT'V that the mere ttjuiiiiuiukm cif
life, when food and drink aie withheld, cannot he safely .uautned
to be due to supernatural causa.

CHAPTER XVII

multiplication or food

O N June 4Lli T 1933, which wax Whit-Sunday, a devoted
secular priest of Poitou* who died a century ago, by na me
Andrew Hubert Fnurnet, was canonized in St, Peter 1 !
with all the usual solemnities. Although be was the founder of a
widdy*spr&td religious Congregation* 4+ lea Fillet tie la Groin:*" 1 hi*
Life is probably little known to the majority of Catholics in this
country . I happened to be in Rome at the time of the canotHsa-
tioti and I was greatly impressed by the vast crowds, mainly of
French pilgrims, who came to attend the ceremony* as welt ax by
the multitudes who thronged the piazxx to witness the illumination
uf the basilica in the evening. Si. Andrew F w tfflCt, who lived to
the age of eighty^two, had had cliarge of n pariah at the outbreak
of the French Revolution. He had been forced to take refuge for
a time in Spain, but returned to lux dock at the rids uf liis life;
celebrating Max* by stealili in a barn and setting a marvellous
example of holiness and ical There was no note uf extravagance
in his piety. Simplicity* straiglitforwartlnc£< md an aU-embfacing
chanty were (he key-notes uf his character; but, a* so often hap¬
pens, God seenn to have rewarded his singleness of heart by extra*
ordinary marks of favour. This is not the place to speak of hi»
efforts to revive the fai th of the people after the Revolution* of hit
miracle* of healing, or of the fervour which* on certain occasions,
when he was preaching or saying Mass* raised him bodily from ihe
ground before the eyes of all ; but he b credited alio with another
form of prodigy not infrequently met with in the lives of those
gt-nermu givers who divest themselves of all things in order to
supply die temporal or spiritual needs of the forsaken and the
destitute. Having before me a copy of the official summary uf the
evidence presented to the Congregation of Sacred Rites in the
cause of St, Andrew** beatification* I cannot* perhaps* better

*Th* edu c atio n a t ituiiiuit hire ipolm of « official! y doi^natrd " lei tfiJli*
dc lx Cm«, dim de S r Andri r M They in quite distinct faun 11 the Daughter*
of the ( 4 m " found nd by the Vcntnble Marie Thinfic Hue of L&gr, u also
from lb- Dirni ovnro only tau« at " tbr Siitrei cl Sl AmlV ew." »

}

386 THK riiVSICaL MUL^OUCNa 0 ? MVmOaU

introduce this phenomenon of the multiplication of food than by
translating part of the depositions of one or two of the witnevto
who gave testimony in the process. They were nuns of that
Congregation d* the Fdfes de la Grout, which the Saint, m con¬
junction with their heroic mother, the Venerable Elizabeth Bidder,
luid founded in dire poverty to instruct the spiritually neglected
peasantry of Western France, Let me take first the sworn itate-
meiit of Sister Bartholomew who, for the first thin ecu yean of her
religions life, hud St. Andrew for htf eouies^or and lived conti rmully
tinder his eye at La Fuye.

^ ,e hcgmi this part of her evidence by saving: ** 'the servant of
God, so for as 1 know, never Itad ecstasies. He did not like us to
talk of inch tilings as Visions, and lie kept watch, with a certain
mistrust, over Sister* who showed any tendency to have revclationi
a - raptures." Then, after touching on other matters, she goes on;

U hue I 'vi« still at La Puye, there was committed to my d irge
Inc care of the granary and of the laundry. It was, so far as I
remember, in 1824, but 1 cannot lw quite certain of the year. Just
before the feast of St, John the Baptist we were looking forward to
the annual retreat, which it made by all the Sisters in common,
when our good Mather Elizabeth [this was Ihe Venerable foundress,
Elizabeth Bidder] told Father Andrew that h was impossible for
that year to assemble all the Staters who were scattered throughout
the dilfemu parishes of ih c diocese and in other parts of France,
became we had not corn enough in the house: and there was no
money to buy more, ’Hie Father answered: “ My diild, where is
your faith? l)o you think G«Ts arm b shortened, arid lhat He
cannot do here what He did of old when, at we read in the Grapda
Hr cd d: iplicd the loaves? Go and write Co the Sisters to come to
tilt retreat." Afterward*, the Servant of God climbed up to the
granary where I was occupied m the moment with one of the other
Sitters, As imial lie brought Ids manservant with him, fur it vc.is
hu custom never 10 come among the Sisters without a companion.
He walked around the two little heaps or grain, one of which eon-
tbied of wheat and the other of barley, I do not remember
whether he blessed the heaps, nar can I say exactly, not having
mcaiured them, Jmw many bushels they each might have

contained, hut the heap were very small, The Servant of God then

1 For fo) 1 us uf !hr CetBtillnM of (WifTTRUlMm pf Rj«* ^ evident

dmihr m Fttnch. wm primed Ut fblinti ' U li_ djSujT^'.^

«HI pntiv: IWHUK of Ojoaly * to, "

kit-'LTlPiJCATiai^ Of FOOD

3&7

loSd our good. Mother a second lime to get the Sisters to come ibr
the njtreat without delay < Accordingly, they arrived Id due course
and, when added to those in the mother house and to a score of
^rpli:im, they brought up the number that had to be fed to about
acm H I went every day to the granary to take the com that was
needed and during two months and a half, in other wards, from the
beginning uf July to the middle of Scptemlwr, I drew my supplies
from lluwe two little hasps without ihrir sltowingamrign nf diminu¬
tion. 1 cannot say for certain how long theSbtera from the parishes
remained at the mother house. As I mentioned Ijeforc, I had not
measured the two heaps. They contained, perhaps, more
twenty bushels, but certainly not as much 53 forty, and ilita was the
quantity which, for two hundred people, would at the very moot,
haw las led a week. In the middle of September 1 quitted La
Puye to go to Angles. leaving the two heaps of grain in just the
same condition in which they were when die Servant of Gtxl
ro ihfr granary, I heard it said that the same two heaps continued
to serve the needs of the Community until Christmas, but I cannot
defuse to ihiH as a witness, for, t«i I have already stared, 1 left in
the middle of September.*

This statement, made, of course, on luith, seems good and
straightforward evidence, It is only unfortunate that Sister
Bartholomew, then jcvcnty^three years old, was ipcaking uf events
which had happened some thirty-four years earlier, Bm lei us
turn to .mother witness,, Sister Alamertm Marie Hrmictte
Giraudy aged sixty-eight, who, after confirming, along with several
others, the universal conviction among the dims of the truth of the
story just recounted, goes on to describe a personal experience of
her own which occurred a year or two later. Sister Bartholomew
had been succeeded in her office of looking after the granary by a
Safer Mary Magdalen, who was no longer living when these
depositions were taken, and Sister Mauiertm narrates:

Sister Mary Magdalen came m rm- one morning and raid: “ l
duii + t know what to do. There are not more than eight or ten
biuheli of corn left in The granary at the very most.” Our good
Mother Elisabeth [the foundress] happened 10 be sway from home
at the time; she was, I think, in Fans, Sbter Mary Magdalen,
itrcorclingly t went off to I he Father ami mid him that ilir Corn-

1 iumvLfln^ bVJtki rm su ntwtd* CiiSU t illb jk&tt&ufcnuj CWw Stni Dr,

Huf-trti FstBTjil iftamr, i$^), jjji. 376—7.

380 rum F 7 TYSJCAI. PHSHUVENA OF KVmCt&H

munUywtmhi soon be without bread, He replied: ** My dear child,
how little faith you love! God's Providence watches over our
n iredju fiend the com you have to be ground . '' Shortly aftcrv.ardj
1 noticed that rfic Servant of God w«* m iking his way to ihr
granary, and my curiosity having, been groined by what Sister Mary
Magdalen had told me, 1 followed him* He went into the granary
and dosed the door behind hint, but J wn.i ^hk to waidi him through
the keyhole. He knell down boidc the liuld heap th.u wiiii there,
and began to pray very fervently* I dan 1 ! know that hr did any thing
dsc, because in my fear that he tiimsell jmglti ciiub ine .'.pving
and might reprimand me ibr my curitHtty, I withdrew aima.i at
cnee. But in due coarse, after the Father had left, Sater Mary
Magdalen t.mit along with the men from the mill, and 1 heard
from her on that same day that ilic measured the corn and found
that there were iixty bushel***

There was much other testimony given to the same effect, but
it is ©f £ icii ithfiictmy Hritl, and consists mainly of statements of
vvhai the mm* or lire neighbouring clergy and laity had heard from
the lips nf those who hod been in intimate relation with St. Andrew
d uring hji life lime. Lei me add dual there scans to be no lack of
ifflUutcts of & sunilar multiplication of food* etc-, in such compara*
tivdy modern condition as die sc which prevailed in the Sait
century, lor example, the Blessed G&ipar del Bufalo aiuj his early
companions had a hard struggle with poverty La founding the
Congregation of thr Precious Blood which* from l0[* onward),
did^ so much to revive religions fervour in the more my hr led
famliis of rural Italy. Father Bluisc Valcntini* who was laLer on
Superior General, giving evidence In the process of beatification,
records how, when he himself was Er> charge oF the Mother House
of San Felice at GUito during Ban G«p*rV absence, he wrote to
the founder that is wm imjx ^blc to pay his way* There were,
he declared, do other resources hut the stones with which the place
abounded. He received iu reply only the mvs&ige; ** Blor the
stones and they will turn into piastres/ ’ Though he took this
answer for a jest, it happened shortly .afterwards dial he was
pro;red for the immediate payment of a debt* He called the
yiiitny num who acini an bursar and thr look'd in the money-box
together. Then they found fifty *' bajecdu "—Set m say pence—
and no more* This nun was hopelessly insufficient for their yur-
pqee, jo Father VaknthjI, ut hi* v, tLa' end, bethought him of the

* * JM& ps 3&|.

tirLT7I p LJ>.ATlf>S OF FOOD -jgq

menage hr had received, and in a >pirji vl faith pronounced a
blessing over die ctVppcrs before him. Them they procccdc .i to count
the money once more, anil Ik hold they found there five piastres
(dollar*, - anil five paoli " francs) die exat t sum that was needed a .
The pjiistrei were cairn from the mint of Pius V 11, and Father
Valcniini, w Lb sivom deposition, intitls forcibly upon die impes-
Ability of any oversight or trickery which could explain the mystery.

Howler much we may lie tikpoied to suspect tiiew witnesses
of matabKrvatioji of of a loo ready credulity, the number or inch,
rtories, many of them resting on direct and first-hand evidence, is
surprisingly great. A good example, which again, in this tase T
was attested on oath in the beatification process, will be found
recorded in most of thr Uv& of Si. Don liosco. 1 transit te
for brevity's sake die account given by Father Lemoyne. The
incident occurred in ififiu in L-,nr of the Sales inn homes, that of
Turin, where a huge number of young student* were in training.

There was no bread m the house and the bakci kid reJmed to
suppiy any id ore until his 3 hil, v, hich had run up to io.cxmj fire, had
l>rrrn stilled, 1 hey inkmicii Don Bos;o, who was then in the
confr-Usiuital, that there was nrnthing far bneakltut, he scut word
that they were to cultecl what httie brad coatd be found and that
he would himself came and distribute it. A young man, Francis
Dalmazzu, who overheard ihiv dfcrtmiu*) [he had been making his
confe^iun at tin: time] wai thr attentive witness of what thru
happened. 1 I found a place, M he said, M where ] could overlook
the sctnq just bellied Don Bbwo, who was preparing to distribute
the foils ( pagftottoilt) to thr 300 ludi m thq vjmr up. I fixed my
eves upon the basket at once, and I saw that ii contained fifteen or
twenty rolb at the most. Meanwhile, Don Bcaco carried our iJie
distribution, and io my great surprise, I saw the same quantity
remain which had been there IVom the first, though no other rolls
had been bmught and rise basket had not been changed. The
impression made by this prodigy was so great that l lie young man
in question who had made up his mind to return home that ver-
moTning became he found tilt life too severe, stayed where he was
and btcamt Satmian* 1

Still more remarkable were two cases of the multipfieukui of

<**«■

1Jpp 41!, ‘ 6U1 d **•*.

39° THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OP MYSTICISM

foodstu{Is which were accepted as miracles for the beatification of
Ste. Germaine Cousin. Though Ste. Germaine luul died in 1601,
the was not beatified until 1834, and it was while her cause, held
up by circumstances of no interest in the present connexion, was
again being pushed forward, that the marvels referred to took
place at the Good Shepherd Convent of Bourges, in 1845 and the
following years. In a chapter like the present it is, unfortunately,
difficult to give those full details which are necessary if the reader
is to appreciate the strength of the evidence. I must content
myself here with a summary statement, such, for example, as that
which may be found in the recent English Life of the Blessed
Mother Pelletier. We arc told that in the Bourges convent during
the exceptionally severe winter of 1845, the flour in the granary
was running short.

There were ufi persons to teed; starvation stared them in the
face. The Superior bethought herself of the Venerable Germaine
Cousin . . . , Novcnns were made in her honour. . . . Daily u
portion of hex Life was read, and medals in her honour were dis¬
tributed, one being hung in the bake-house. The Sisters in charge
of the bakery were in the habit of kneading twelve bushels of flour
every five days, which made twenty large loaves. The Superior
told them henceforth only to use eight bushels and Venerable
Germaine was begged to make good the rest. They did not obtain
the desired result, the bread only lasted three days. Nor were the
second and third attempts more successful. Without losing faith,
the Superior prayed to the little Saint “ Make the quantity of flour
suffice for twenty loaves.. . " The miracle took place. The first
batrh, though made from only eight bushels, produced twenty
large loaves weighing from twenty to twenty-two pounds each. The
second batch was even more marvellous; in kneading the dougli it
swelled to such an extent that it overflowed the trough in a few-
moments. The Sisters filled the oven with this, and then cal¬
culated they stilj had twenty pounds of paste left, without counting
the yeast, and yet only four bushels of flour had been used. Five
days later the same multiplication took place with two batches.
This was but the commencement of a series of favours received
through Venerable Germaine. In the convent granarv was a
supply of flour w f hich at most would last, with care, for two months.
After a few* weeks the Sifters remarked that although the quantity
had lessened, the diminution was quite out of proportion to the

.amount used. " Wishing,’* as they said, " to surprise the Uttle
. •

MULTIPLICATION Of FOOD

39*

Saint red-handed in a miracle,” at the beginning of February they
began to measure the flour. Again at the end of a fortnight they
did the tame. The flour weighed exactly' what it had done a
fortnight before, in spite of two bakings, so without knowing it the
Community had been drawing direct from the granaries of Divine
Providence. From November 1845 until February 1846 Stc.
Germaine had practised every form of multiplication both of
bread and flour. 1

But the fact is that prodigies of this type are of frequent occur¬
rence in our hagiographica! records. For some, of course, the
evidence is very inadequate, but others arc well attested. Prosper
I-ambmirii (Pope Benedict XIV) in his great treatise on the
Beatification and Canonization of Saints, devotes a chapter to the
subject, and fully recognizes the supernatural character of these
multiplications where proper precautions are taken against errors
of ma 1 observation, etc. He himself cites* a number of cases in
which such incidents are expressly descrilied as miraculous in the
bulb of canonization of well-known saints. He mentions in parti¬
cular Sl Clare of Assisi, Sl Richard of Cliichestcr, St. Teresa of
Avila, St. Frances of Rome, St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi, Sl. Pius
\ , etc., and refers to other cases connected with the names of St.
Thomas of Villanova, St. Lewis Bertrand,* St. Rose of lama, St!
Aloysius Gonzaga, St. Francis Xavier, St. Cunegund, St. Elizabeth,
Queen of Portugal, and several more.

Neither can it be said that marvellous phenomena of this kind
are restricted to those whose claim to holiness has been ratified by
the official sanction of the Church. There are certain mystics who
seem, if I may so speak, to specialize in this type of manifestation,
and who light-heartedly have not hesitated to put their wonderful
powers to the test upon very slight occasion. Perhaps the most
remarkable instance I have come across is that of the Carmelite,
Father Angiolo Pauli, who was bom of a humble family in Tuscany

1 Bit m i of .SL £*fittratu Ptllrittf, trj

18um», Oair* & Wuhbournr. 1933), m>. jy
*• presented to the Can$frxiUk>t, „f S^rrer! H
Gmnamt G rutin, (1904), pp 177-85 | am ix

Horvl " biulidi ** of flour u warranted by dir

* Book IV, port 1, chap. *3.

* It will be tern from the Lift •/ St. /jim Bernard by Fr. Wilhrriorrr, O P.

and *^ ia ' ^ rv tdenee for such miracles u not always quite Harmfinit^

1 a Rel«K>m </ the Congregation
4- ^ full statement of the evidence
litn will be found in VcuiUot. Su.
at quite sure wheilirt the use of the
original drpotitimu.

■

• «

39 2 na rimtCAi. phenomexa op mysticism

in 1642,0111! dial at Rome in 1720. It is true that the cause of
his beatification wu introduced, tliat the depositions at witnesies
were duly taken upon oath, and a full Life published in 1756 which
is based upon 41 the Ordinary and Apostolic processes, already
approved by the Holy See.” Father Angiolo is, therefore, correctly
described therein as ** the Venerable Servant of God, 4 ’ but though
he died more than 200 yean ago, no decree of beatification aeenu
ever to hate been issued, and the cause has apparently been
dropped. But the long chapter which deals with •• his gift of
multiplying food and drink in the service of the poor and the sick,”
confirmed, ai it seems to be, in each recorded example, by a
reference to the evidence given in die processes, tells us some very
curious tilings. Among Angiolo'* friends was a certain Father
Castelli, then General of the Scrvites, ami on one occasion, after
paying him a visit, the good Carmelite remarked as he took his
leave:

" Father General, what will you give me for my poor? " The
other answered that he had nothing hr could give him- " No,"
uiii Father Angiolo, " I only wnnt a few biscuits and sweets for my
p«*or sick people. '* ^ ou should have them very willingly,” said
tlir other, ** if 1 had any, but I have none.” To which Father
Angiolo rejoined. ” Well, I will try this cupboard; I know I shall
find something." Thereupon opening a cupboard in the wall
wherr Father General’s Sodtss used to put napkins and other table
utensih, he discovered some scrap# of bread (toed di patu) which all
together did not amount to the volume of a small \<H&(pc&nU*) and
a half, or two at the inmost, and these he stowed away in his left
drevr. Then the General, and Father Master Mnggini who wai
also present, remarked smilingly: "You haven't got much loot
after alt, f tidier Angiolo.’ When they had talked awhile, he set
off home, mod the General and Father Maggini decided to accom¬
pany him. The three had got as far as the Torre dc’ Conti, when
Futher Angiolo began giving aim# to various persons of both sexes
big and little, who begged from him, distributing the scraps of
bread which he had taken from the General’s mom, Iwt without
breaking them up in any way. He continued to do this all the way
to S. Pietro in VtncuK; at which Father Maggini was M astounded
that hr turned to him and said: " Good gracious) Have vo U a
basketful of liread in your sleeve 3 You have been giving aim# to all
the beggar# in the city with the bread you got from Father General."
.Father Angiolo made no answer, but the General, who Itud watched

MULTIPLICATION OF FOOD 393

everything that happened, made a sign to hi* companion to hold
hi* tongue.

'Hie account goes on to describe how Father Angiolo, during a
long walk, gave to everyone who begged of him, and adds that
" with these few scraps of bread, hardly enough *0 give seven or
eight people, he satisfied from fifty to sixty poor beggars who all
went away contented with the alms they had received." As Father
Maggini commented, *' he had nothing but the scraps he had taken
from the Gcticrsl, and vvr, who kept our eyes upon him the whole
time, knew that he never stopped in the street to receive a fresh
supply from anyone whatever."*

AH this was clearly a work of genuine charity to the poor in which
it b easy to believe that God may have co-operated with Hb servant
even by working a surprising miracle. What b less Intelligible b
the confidence shown by Father Angiolo that lie would at any time
be seconded in lib efforts to provide an agreeable little picnic for
the well-to-do friends who helped him in some of lib good works.
On a particularly hot day in June, the Father seems to have taken
a group of them to a sort of garden party where he provided
lettuces and radishes to make a salad, with a tart, as well as a
basket of strawberries for dessert, all which, in that season of
drought, were practically unprocurable. These things, wherever
he obtained them, sufficed, without being exhausted, to afford
refreshment for a dozen people, while a single decanter of wine
was freely partaken of by all and yet remained half-full. On
another similar occasion, a single flask of wine (im fiasco di vino della
misura di un bocaU) was provided for twenty-five people who drank
tumblers-full, some one, some two, some of them only a half, but
at the end the flask had still been only half emptied, and a Signor
Bcllotti, whose statement b quoted from the process of beatification,
deposed that “ three bocalt [? decanters] of wine at the very least
would not have sufficed to provide a drink for »hrm a U, and yet
vwtb only half a bocalc the whole party quenched their thirst and
were satisfied."

Still more surprising are some of the innumerable incidents of
the same kind which Father Cacciari has recounted, so surprising,
in fact, that one asks oneself whether the whote Life b not an

* lhu!„ p ajH-

' T. Cacciari. OelU ITU, Virti * Amt Scfranaturali d,l IVx Anp*U Pad 1
tRonir, pp. 62-4. •

OIE PHYSICAL Plt£HOU£>CA Of MViT KrKit

audacious Fiction. This, however. i* impossible. It is a substantial
rolinn e printed m Rome in the- pontificate of Benedict XI Y\
Joli cated io the Cardinal Archbishop of Ferrara, and furnished
with (he TJLxes*ury imprimatur, as well as with, u number of highly
lam.,, ton, itpprabatiafi!i- Many jieoplr arc citrtt wiincais who
rniiit have Ikci, well known in ecdrriastfcal circle , and dtere is a
ieiic. cl rderaiiccs to Serftnmria of the i scarified tin [i process a
piinted volume which I know is. exist, though unlbrti match, l
have not had fitce,-, tu a copy. Over and nvrr again we have
account ,ji tilt division of some delicacy into portion i which it
was CB-vy to count, and then of its subset^uciit distribution to three
or four limes the smtnbcr ol hospital patients, each reedvinj one
of these portions entire. But perhaps the moat curious fr amer of
,iJ L-i i he assured conviction Futiicr Anjjiolo kcitb to have possessed
lhiis, il he wished m give to the poor, or only to refresh fits thirty
Irinuls ’ , bth :i ettp of wine or a handful of fruit, supernatural means
would, always be forthcoming —.tnd. in (net, according to the treti*
immy of many inspect able cye-wiineiie*, always were forthcoming—
U> enable him to gratify feis dcrirc, uo matter how great the number
of recipients. 1

Lven in more modem time; vvr occasionally find mention of
niiTacutoui multiplications which could not be attributed to any
rt .b ut-A-v ity. In iht process of Blessed Joseph Cottolcngo ihrrr
r 4 story fold of an inridom witnessed by a Canon Vqglfctli ,md
at, ,din priest. Someone had brought Camden go a little basket
of cherries which he distributed, handful by handful, to the w hole
eruw i t of fits students, They sufficed far all, but the amount thus
distrilmicd was quite out of proportion to anything which the
Tp^ket could potsibh have contained, The Canon and his enm*
panioji went away astonished, but by no means dhedified, to
observe hew Divine Providence seemed " |u be taking part in a
gr.mr ** (ftunt xttffzitn) with the gtaierous-hcarictl servant of God.*

It would be an cxidlesi task to try to compile * fat u f
devout people in whose Lives inch multiplicatlaiis of food ate
recorded 1 will content myself, therefore, with it bare reference
to thr admirably documented Life of the Venerable Gertrude
SaJandri* * 174H! u> that of the Ahamtarine friar, tfje Blened

. ]}? V f ' i }xTr PP a 0 *-SI 9 h * ™t number did , n

druir lrntin r Cacaan 1 Eic Aultior. was htmsdf the Ppatuiatr^ rise Cam- im |
mwi have ImJ till th_* origfcuil ikfhAiilam t^farn him and

* SJ> ‘ *"&*■ <***»> l^-ne, , 977 b Sun,.

* Vita Rutnn, c 774.; „ pp J.&i, I&tt, 346,

MULT 1 I Lii AHflK or root!

395

Andrew Themun iGcu},' of the Capuchin. Blessed Crispin of
\ ioirbo ( f 17 ri 41 )* w ho seemed to delight In such miracles, hut trade
things uncomfortable for those who did not give,* and of the
mvsdr ui Rovenedo, the Vcnrrablr Ciovatraa Maria ddh Cron e (j-
1673). 1 There are many more famous examples, nidi, for instance,
a * ihcme recorded of Si. Veronica Giuliani, St. Paul of the Crtm
and Si. Lkfwina of Schiedam, hut what has here bwit said will
suffice 10 5hrov that this ullqjed multiplication of fcxwi, ihuugh
the evidence may often be inadequate, cannot lightly be dismissed
as a phenomenon belonging merely to the domain of legend.

r Mundma. Vi in 4 *i Bt\Oa AnJt'i lb*r -1 . ' Rome. r 7^ r '1 , jjp. 13 fit.

* tire M £U*U> Cfitpm J* ViinU i.R umc, i&wi i, ]ip \

1 B. ^V*l>rr, hi l/'i, i rab.t Jom v.WW tt (ft fa Crcii (Pari*. ttff,Efi, pp. 126^ 70 J

T '

♦

••

INDEX

Aaron, miracle*. 170

Abbo, biographer of St Joint Cualbrn.

< 75 °-

Abelly, biographer of St, Vincent dr
Paul, 93711.

Ahirbur>. uignuuk nailed to a atom
at, 36.

Alia AfmtJ.net Sedii, cited. 98-99.

Ada S. Thttiat , cited, aaju.

Acta Smctanan iBollanduu, cited, ton,
15a, t6n. i8n, 31, jgn. 40*. 4811.
«3 r, °. »39*b »4&b *4‘jn. * 52 * 1 ,

I57n, 1690, I74n, *7511, 178ft,

177, at2n, nan, wsn, 22411, *380.

MS* M7*y>. *7>» *8.u».

2830, s86n. 28811. aBgn, 33711.

J4.V» :

Ai tui B. Fannin ti tuaamm rim, ritrd, j.

Adatn, mb-prior of Eymliam. on case
of Butins. hu.

Adam de Maddol, 159.

Adair. laird (afterwards Earl of Dun-
raven), witnesses (1) In Halloo, J,
(ii) immunity front burning. 182-3,
1840. |iii • bodily elongation, 194-8,

Actheria, describes fraternity of tt-
<rtb, 352.

Agnyo, Albert, favourably impressed
by Maria de la Vuitaaon, 91

Agnes of Joutf. Mcitbrr, miraculous
Communions, 144-5; water used
to cool burning fervour, jtgn;
man-elloui perfume, 231; in¬
corrupt. 237-8; diainrhnaisnn for
food. 347.

Agnes nf Monrepulnano. SL, 1460,

Agreda, Maria. Imitation*. 28-9, it90;
liable to luggemon rtrurmm, 104

Alapont, G., biographer of Bl. Nicholas
Factor, 1520.

AUri, Magdalena, wiinmo levitation
of Veronica Laparelit, tggn.

Alba de Tonnes. relic of St. Teresa's
heart at, 68.

Albert of Auatna. Cardinal, Philip I I'a
viceroy in Portugal, comulta Maria
dr U V’luisciou, 88.

Albert of Venice, Count of Panne,
miraculous penetration of a Host,

160.

Alcidii of Scartiekr, Bl.. radiant count¬
enance, 169.

Altmamta, cited. t4qn

Alexander II, Pope, receives letter from
citizens of Florence. 1730.

Alexander IV, Pope, on itigmata of
St. Franrit qf Assisi, Jt-

Alltm, T. W , on Docnenica Larzari’s
(I) itigmata, 50, 56, 740, 76-7, (U)
fait, 34a.

Akn-sius Gonxaga, St, # not incorrupt,
240, 248; multiplications, 391.

Alphomus Liguori, St., Imitated, 31;
austerity, 70; not favoured with
itigmata. 104; turmu ruled by
radiance. 168; bilocauom, 19a; no
evidence of incorrupt ion, 141s 249.

Alpbotuus Orozco, Bl., imperfect
uigmatizatMin, 57m

Alphonsus Rodriguez, S«., Imitated. 31.

Amadm, biographer of St Bernardine
of Siena, 248

Ambcuar of Milan, St., duroven in¬
corrupt body of St. Nazarius,
a$4-3; on SS. Grrvuse and Protase.

283.

Ana. Dona, Zevalkn requests finger of
St John of the Groaa as gift for, agt.

Amain U Ballaiduma, cited, gn, 4m. 430,
4711. 6in, 620, 1260, 209a, a3«jn,
24011. 244.

Analecta liru Pcmtifuu. ated, 780. 133.

Anaatasie. Sister. Superinren at Namur,
impecti remains of Uf Julie Billiarl.
232. •

Anas taxi us of Monte Altino, rompran
verses about St Catherine of Siena,
M®*

Ii $>8

THE fiSttWUU. Qf MVTTTCBM

,\rtdre Hubert Ffluniey .'iy, ttviUOok
Jt ; itnoxt: of rigst tmtii. 37 *-G*
nmlliplk . tkw of ftx.^i r 3O5-U
Andrew AvefltliO,, Sl, incurrum, s*a.
.Andrew BttU-k St-, iaeompt, afa-j.
Andrew Jbanea, BL> leviiitwih {1,
tody warm after death,, xij;
Ijiijlupjuoiiuru of food. 393.
Anilm..*, Dr., wirocsKi team on Mn.
Crood, yij, 5*9.

Amjcli Mari» dt tiraii, Sttltt, wit.
!!rv - H mifMtukrtw CunutiuninOt
153.

.\mrelit Merici, -St,, inoem^

Ang 4 #i di Monchno, BJ.. knusorw
trtttn burning, *77,

'Armudk Crnirtft dty wdnme1 tnlracu-
juitt fflimiruiiiijii, Bo, 14s.

Antf^o dr And, ft].. ievitajciJ, 31;
of ! tl :h K!. 231,

A“» M;u-ti i'W. Ht.„ rninioiJooi

CcHBtmuiioiii, 153 ; incorrupt,

'di-Ji Ijedt nuclei nil* fluid

n68.

AnsdJrf if/ Himatdc^j r i 1 -j ted, 131,

4 wij« rf’J&jfpmr dted, or tin.

CWran rf dted, 4911.

74* l^6n, i rTr 557, 3 ^j

377*

Attne, Major Errtny dacrOn rrr.r of
'iircimiiptiois,

Amt* ol Irsts, Moifkrt, burning he o f

fl£f.

Aiu.r id stie Inr.Tr™ non, Srilcr. tcs ,i.
hn co levitiiLcm of St, T«rw rA
AviU. ia,

AMmmiJUfitUr, dtej* ( ( fc0i 37li;

itSyj; jp^n.

Ameimo V. t LiosrajiheT of JBJ. »„f .

<t«fEi Angc& 33 in.

Aolhi.nv. dbdptn of St. Mn«tn Sry ,
htrt., 343.

Anthony M, ZMttiia, St., ttMiz of
hodv after desiJb, 3^,

■' eitijEMiy rf Sr-, incorrupt

tottgur,. kf$,

Ant ^ !Ii ° 3 **”“* S * ■ tOCOmapi.

Antonio, Don* Marik dr, U Y&cujteL
on. 85.

\ntnrtum, Riven coil* by St. Fraud* of
t7tiu.

Actcbbiu, ediinr of L ifi vf St. Pfnlip
Jfiri, 4 tin.

SttlWerp, Hilltop < ■[ . in j | h*t u fttfuitu of

Mi>r% \fnTRarri h kT the Angd*. j&*.
ApoUiia. Tlilmy d‘, Jri , , f Sy
t^omentc t JeviM-ion, ft.

Amuton, Mjiti; rJfita d 1 , v-e* rrallml of
Sune Miriii \liLml, fj^ci.

Atttron, JVdrft dr, Rector i>f ihr Ijiti-
vrnity :.H SaJamant a r 4*

CtlO-i,, 'JSn,

At. ■'-iei™ Fttatiiisman ft uteris, ci(M
3'in, 3311* yun

Argrjitina, (cadfie* t-> S; Cliwimifir of
frt-jfru'i fi] doogamj inn. 4 ui,
Jt5’jfv i s ; tiupnarbailnri. jij;
validity of hrr tvfdcnee,

Annlao, Joltfide, wimr m Irv.iatioo r) f
.Vnihoqy

Arrighellii, Arjjiii.i, witnetaoa St
C-ilhrdnr dr’ Rrai Hhu, '

An, Ctirt d f . irt VLajm^- St. PoEtci
Baptiat

AuJxray, bwgrapbfr of Sl. John &_*ui

Angtntine, St, lni cr of Sl Amhn,r to,

,J 3 ii de=rfihci caw tjf

trnrviikin,.

3 ^- 3 .

AiiRtutmian. Canoni, htflwa Mi Oitirv
lllr:E ltnri..! J 'itjJr-. r -;4It.

AunrJia, Surer, vritniKa St. Cclterinc
de' Rita's drig, 137.

AunurIxrtM, St., immune tmw burn
iT!-

Azaiij, uui rax ttf Fdida X, m,
Annetto, Jnign dc, Beatrice of Gfaniu [ a
tod^cd with, M ft,

Rabin ski, on « Pi.hiatam ^ r 0T ^.

B^cc, biourap-icr of St. I'lalirp Xeri,

* 4 , * 69 . no, atrn,

Ragfriini, and Fcrmli, hi mfrioh^n of
ftl OBumnAra^^S
mUow, RrttfnaJdL
e*c«i, Mn, 451L
Bantjury, ifimuinMll is ay ^

I ’onek, IJomiri^o. and aulohio.i[r i )phv s>T
bt. rtJWJM of tt.

IXDEX

Baidu, Sir Joseph, book dedicated u>,
38cm

Baptiita. Maria, witnesses levitation of
Sc Teresa of Avila, 13.

BarhagU, Domtnica. oscillations whm
levitated, 11 go.

Banm*!i. ChrvmuU 9 f, note on a stig-
matk, 36, 57-8.

Biuunrmi, Scrafina. wiuima St.
Catherine de* Ricci's ring. 136.

Bartholomew, Sistrr, testifies caocrm-
St. Andrf Hubert Foumet,
3 &- 7 -

Bartholomew Dominic. Fr n testifies to
St. Catherine of Siena's mirauilou*
Communions, 143.

BartcJi, biographer of St. Ignatius of
Uryola, 8 .

Bariulini, I*., <m lutninoui phenomena,

>63*

Barttci. W, biographer of St. Jolui of
the Croaa, 16711.

Basil 0/ Oftrog, St., incorrupt, 240,

Badifkmy, 63.

Battuta Varani, HI., tongue preserved
incorrupt, 3244.

Bard, Grotjr,oo Mo Hie 1 tiichet'i fast,

319. 3 «- 4 -

Beatillo, Anthony, on levitation of St.
Bernardino Kcalino, 34; story of
luminous phenomena. 165.

Beatrice of Gronaiia, sudden dis¬
appearance of wounds, 91a;
svroptonu of hviteria, 115; disso¬
ciation of const'inuinrss, 115-17,
119; stigmata. »i8; levitations,
118-19.

Beauchamp, Sally, rase of dissociation,

tit.

Bocran. J. B.. on fasting 357-8.

Bole, Vrti.. on inrorruption of St.
Cuthliert, 367.

BHlotti, deposition concerning Angiolo
Paoli. 393-4.

Bern hi, Mumirsara. on St. Catherine of
Bologna, 385.

Besjediei, F. G., nn foiling, 353.

Benedict XIV, Pope, no St. Joaeph tf
Cupertino, 17; on Beatification
and Canonisation, 71; Promoter

399

of the Faith in the cause of St.
Catherine of Ricci. 133; on
apparitions. 149; on luminous
emanation*, 163.4; St. Mary
Magdalen of Paau, 241; on St.
John Nepotnuoen, 343; on St.
Nirholaa of Totcmino. *90; on
*“*»• 357 *fi. 36 a, 377. 384; on
multiplication!, 391.

Benedict XV, Pope, on Padre Pio,

95 -

Benedict Joseph Latne, St., state of
body after deads. 280,

Beruvieni, Oman, witnesses miraculous
Communion. 153.

Berlinghrri. Bon* ventura. portrait of
St. Francis of Aum, 51-3

Bernadette Souhirous. St,, incorrupt,
835*®; honoured as saint before
ex h u m atio n . 266; and case of
Mollie Fincher, 318.

Bernard. St. not incorrupt, *40.

Bernard da Corieonr. Bl., levitated, jt;
flow of blood, 293.

Bemartline of Siena, St., austerity, 70J
suit of body after deadi, 3481
effusion of Mood, 29011.

Bernardino Realino. St, alleged Irvita-
*ftsct, 22-4; luminous phenomena.
,& 4 ; 5 -

Bemartiinus dr Raymundu, describes
St Francis of Paula's immunity
from burning, 174.

Brmlrnm, on (i) hyitcna, (02-3;
(ii) hunger. 36a.

Bemino, biographer of St. Joseph of
Copertino. 130, t6.

Berry, H. F., Tkt Rrgisirti of iht Ckmth
tf St. Miihax, cited, 2390.

Bcnhe. biographer of St Alpltonsus
Ligwri, 249.

Bmhold-lgnace. Iwographrr of Mother
Anne nf Jesus, rttn

Betancourt, de, tonifies to radiance of
St Lewis iWtrand, 169.

B ion chi, F. S. M„ trsiifirs to miracu¬
lous Comm Anions, 153*4.

BihlietMjut Bnumnqw, ritrd. 354, 35511,
356®.

Bichier, FJiiabeth, 386-7.

"t 00 TH* PHYSICAL rTa^oME«A Or MWICtUI

tliofuoijii, A., refuel- (in ittgnioLa oj
J'narr fio, rjcj-itii.

MktiiifJ, -vrt iTJjfiifiaia, 3^ L 3^-ti, 5?,
Btllrt, tmjinfiuiLtv ijLiolijnad, ^
rivnivjp, \ itiitriiv, religion* iriij"^ 11.r
. m

Jo^n ftjnm Smtainr, iunb

AuLiicinj 1 iitFprac^rti utxivc

ground, .

Blitk*, f)r-, tin Jiinna A'ruinJitU!, 334.
BSc^jiu,, Harbor fncml i„|

FmcKi-t, jott, 3 i6n.

Tkiriii. ] ILilieTt, n.irpitL'i','.H , ,r_j.

■* i>ri InewnjpijcHti, ^yn,
Boiuivcuti W ’3 IWntini |j| , J^iUiccti
31 .

Si dr rr iI "•: \ n ,[*,*«

<rf St Fr*nds t n A..iu

.Vfcp*, 47 *ji AW]

4 ®i>-

Itanomi, Cknumi SUrfr. -timillc

* p*

IfcrLii^PH^i, ln^ifc, d*". w | tJ | ,. t jj t
CaUttrtni-11 r Rtcri’f rm^, \ 3O.
ttiKt tf/ Mitadlt, IUj I rlrrt j Jt - ,..

i rondi nf Asiiu'i irvi tftticn, 71 on
Si. Fraud i'ji a-ti^nuim, 4 , 4 ,

FtSKitt. witr^o imrafLikHii
“ty&iriinuniofli, %

B M, biography ,4
Dwn « fc: » «w PtaMjjio, «*.

r? 7 n t «t)a

JknrdU r Or art mt* ■,( Kunm* 3 <ja
BrnCiiEiini, Sijte* Marla HdgdiiVna,

. m * lre ™ fa l Veronica
tiiuitAli i Irvitjuian, tiii
iWJui, Fr, 10B

® 0BW ^ 1 ,7^ rt >' !' j r'iydjraiJ Rneajrch,
ttuuritn XV Xf cilftl, gjan, }j(_

U ' rjJi ;" ud - of St vWntik

I™ 1 ' "3?u; t“Hfflpiicr «f (>[
MIU14

FkKJliKHl, SicpSirtl til*, [(|| s ,ii r „r K

W-

py-irg. G. Du, Iwyrnpber ^

ri.

Boflr f of. trfrivrj

“^tivc from the Type, 3 a
flourr^viiJe. im hynwit*] patimu, 5 e
ikkitmou, jKttc, fair,

Rtnjmi,, eiperimrnu on hwciial
jsiEirnii. y f .

Bnyn, Fr., (in MaUttfr A^nrj .‘if
^ 347-

Bfcaut^, Paw|k« d* F jJro , ha* an
Jip'Muir luuiitttl,

HrcnJjJiO, rfm-iya rrvtlatjijui from
AlUIr t'SEjjUdtlJl III i rnihdr |~f r J137,
Me T r dc, 144

foidfitt of S^eticH, m«kibn of dtc
Pruiinu t 127; no I mccmi|K. ^40;
tietti J'rrafrvnJ. -44,

Hridgrtt, MiJwr 0/ if* Hth Etdlmii} m
{nun ifrjhtm ciinF iSin.

Beou, Bicvotpllrr ui Sl Fnud1 Xaferr
= 5 t.

Hrwvn, UtintLy. nJiinr fif [lit VfflelijpO
Calmdar^ Hpi, fjcin

IWy, Fr . O/P.U , Oft I firr^a

NraiiiBuiij Iran; iift^rapbri: nt

Si. John flif (Ta Onu, 16719 .
il *•'■•• A™ Hu,-a jig miMetu

rrlrd. j

Mivlus), - nun r 4 1
^Wiaif Mrf AM, 11
Btitkt Vfctw Jr, bkgrtpfitr of ft,
Joanna SmlffinL 1 jlio; (J u #_nia
fjf Frajrrauc’, aa-ju.

Buc&luul r Fnnife f */ ,«Vitart/

W cilreb sjtl,

BiiOjIiLt... 1 nu, &Tarti. j4tvrT%als cai^

of Margaret Sfyfrit :>5D-
HufftUv Cq-j-'hT. n'Llr^i, jfjT,

tintlma & fJt 9 ifmit tk+tvilr dt MMtim,

Bqntttrgni. T., on St, Anr«Qitnil ef
Flftreiicf, a^ti

Btuoi, ^prniMnti Mi hyitcricli
paticriu. jtu

Bnzn^ Mar> Xaicrd. ifej,

pulr t Lfld, Irandadon of Annua

^rtcri titoi, 1 ".fif,

nWi^ AqxcloiitHiitK^ bfogiraiiher of
AaiEM Miiriii Cadirtxa,

iajn, M.m.

f-. litogmpbiT of Angrttto
31 * 3750 * 3i>in, ifafEi.

GMKiEi*, Sliter, iloaiha kvEuiioai of

Si, IXuninii:,

C*1fSu<m, tlmm**, S—-nlifiti i r futl nf
St. Cuibrdn^ ofSiraii. 44'ji.
Ciij’-i.afl. Si., u jr .ii bodv afar deadi,
*49*

Caru*L'iin r francii, m' [ina hnaly
burnd. 24611, ufttn.

Garni]] us dr LclJit, Sl ri tQCOfrutu, xjg;

oil? fluid fliiwi Imp Ewdy,
Calicettrittk fj. I!., bitatfnflller of
dk| SeTTOrsCr StSitli

Csnrpa. I., Uifjritfitir/ i Pmldtiliaiia

<£a£ticnii, 6,:n.

Gujatrliiii, .Pfirveij*-,^* ditLLi Ron.rU a.
■rnmilo blood of Sc Francis dj
Ucmuniiiv, J07.

Cfimiuimtle, cjoruieujitrd bv Pope
Pkn ix, ai.

Capo ^EbLTd btngiBjjbrr id St Ptiilifi
Ned* 'Jiiu, 148.

Cjpflrj'-T. Dtr<.'UJ£ij .1/ uj cited,

J 7 ft.

Card on*, Has u] 111.1 dr. Irigtatice, 337
Cantu gnoL% unii t.iie oficejns without
itJT- 19 .

Cu rl Eis miant of Satn.i Maria Jepltj
repitasdejrcc. l6fl
Coiticr. 14811.

(_li-.a].|L ! . - 11 -;i i 3 r. j]i. .prnjsit. HgnpL,

CivffFt Fr., frkixd of Viufiotif ftmll,

39 *fi

CaibitEifipr, OdiTErnira ikl Faruliu/a
director, 200,

Caulk, HtRh Admiral of, v U] ti St
Joseph d, Gjjjmiiin. rij,

* -"iitrcca. (>uuime ^ [j 1 i;i, u imciuiijH)

df rtunritiuinra, nj t 117. 113,
iiH-l}; 'Ua^nalic, iuf.fii| ;
hvmrir.nl lyuipTOin*, 1 3 j ; elonji-
rlwt, joo,

Ca.iirilkt . V . biographer of HI Junta di
lUlitni, 31.

* - t-vrpif Cinfiium fiw;arm: fiff.

fliff BtiiTtil/mit Bnlbmbati , 400,
4ttl. p ,lln t :din.

( lathmiu* ,fn Rictoni^, St, msr-
vciLntu- fn^nmee, 2jin,

(ijiiierinr of ,Alexandria, St., ieen j n
ioiom, 117,

Catherine .if BoEoqsn. Si.. b 5 eeJ 3 nif
Offer tkatlr, 73% BtiS-t-

Calh'-riitr of Genoa, Si„ dw^Sioo of
umu :of. iij'ib; imni- ImrmiLjf,
9 JZ-i 3 ; ffre.u fnili, gjj, 344-53

injured jliituliitT and dhplairnd rib,

^-WS! io*e of hicKKl, 3t7; in.
r-TTupUr^,, r^Sj umind>r :<3 by
perfume. ;j [Cn.

Catherine nf Rktti, St., rclucuaCQ to
dtrrei Altenlmn tu hfrvJf, $5;
wound on «hotrlt! rr, mytfjc
eijumiid*. 133-391 nitmnmka
radiance, l&TSs tweet odium* Ifw-.
!fci01 ie-,t ran!tcpt lj> ihe UnivrnuJ
Chuirti, LjS.

Catbttme hi Sehrnulweiirr. fur. 377,
Cafhi-rtnn of Sicai, St. T |{^niatLnn,i 1
1 fo. 203 arigEliatiralimi, 6tn, fi.{;
optnual rijijj. ijoi rairairtiWi
CotnjiLiLiJiiJtH, tnutiune

fryjn burning 1715-, hnulrum

ridinttts:, Hju; InctirrupT,

tiii.'i, 32a, 44 ). 7; I'lirce* hri'o-!f r.i
itnlLnw, 56 ^

Cih'tidfz EnfKli.posGKi, ntH, 7 in, 83 .
Cauehon, AtlrJ lria( of St Joan ufArt;

IJgn.

St., wltn’-u; rn itismita, jo,
Ccotrdif bio^njatirr t>: Si tlimiJiuu
dr LdEii, afnin.

Crbim, on Sl. Fra mis of .Aaud, 8, 7,

44 7, 5®. 2 7t,

Inlntiiir 1H, I'fljr, Ijtlitr to Arch-
biiiitip df rkinrurt. 38.

CeiwdLL, or, "i I. Fr.inrt* (^iracirioln

.■48. Jyjii.

Oo 3 i, Fkrliki cn St- Veronica
Giuliani. 134-^, ijg,

Cj^sk btogratiHci of St. ■Uoytint
Gortfiifa.. B48.

Gepari, Fr.j Sr, M«rv tlr'

mnfenor, i a to.

■Geppi. X ■ iUj S(_ Nichohn ii

CereeUnn, Am fluid, rnd mlr*Cjl

Cimmumuti nf Sl Vf^Hn. J'nrn
4 rt?a delEr Cintltir Riiuthir, 1^3.

CJinju-Eir. M do A. titi [judi* Gu'ite,

36a.

QMni.ot. and hynenral paliftm, 5I1,

I(M r IP7, 304.

HIE PiiYSICM I'HEKOHEN'A OF UYSTICXglt

Ciiarim tEgrrom ru, St., mmjijjided by

UHtlunt iujii!, t& 4 _ 16 S- 9 ; body

r .jpOTLl 1 1 J/ITKTWd, 230 .

QutlH trf Sow, Bt., vduwH heart.

t -h iiri, p. A . £u‘rr =;" fhii ,'in, c 1 en.| ,
Qiilir, Mf. MoJiic Fuxkt tctn
1‘JH.

Cllailc, Iwpiphcr wf Mirit du Dlvm

Cocuf*

G^wriarvi M l\. C^iiAficr 4r, rm
« 3 dmmfltjci|» til Park
i J[.-“fi:tl(, Mgr., mrl Padtr Pin,
CbiiiGbiien, H_ od [jjuitc, 33^

Ckriatma of -Spdrto, li[., xUVniHkttd

iti^iMti, |r>ft

Ctojncj XfajoTit, Brtmini of 1 itigmjiut',
S 3 . 5 -H 1

Ckromttn Aitgbummt dtnl H jtm.

Qarr. Jiaisfts -liimr t-f L/,

Jufif IpU^ Lj^in.

Cljrr. Si., not 1 bf.nrrH |>i h cruiJtip]]-

c&xkrniL 5jji.

C-^rr .Mtiry I-F Lhr klKioji, Mother,
onimjj- uf vmni in, aaft,
t.tarr of ifontffaJcu, iir,, raenmiiJt,

^ 4I '

CUiHrrr, MatiMe dc |a, biagispEkTr r.l
St r Cjjutiii, r 411 -

Ch-rm (Mi t-F orand* Si cation] StJnooJ, Gj,

< lUxrjir, Dr. Dh, cm l>unoiir* L m. j tri i

4t» iS"^73'7. U&

Crj-dst, on tticpuhy, 31s.

t>xi Agile, EJ. tk, bi^yripJirt .,: ill.

Lotto to 4a Umuiiii, ^ 1 ,

Ralph, Abbot ni, acruml
< A j Hispid tit, 33. 3)601.

Goi« ( Nilkn. imsutne fini iiunung.

17^1

Colot IT, Si-. mVtljd.1 CtpOUHlI nHjJ.

inliitul cumUjadan, jsm,
tnij-.-; r: .f tarmkinrM m Lift*, 337 H.
ColoattA. Filippo, rmiirr of Otux Mary
of die Pj»kB3, asfi.

Culoiuu, VUtom, m Clare Maty
thr Prairm, Mother.

Cl ■■i'llu-Hi 1.1 Rirli, St* 13211.

&K4I1 DovLr. vl' ttuefea itifpcLUn, yi

11-1 i!r MIHaiUi, Mji'.tj-. ►, n:i
Sl Ftltlaa ni" J’juln, j 71 H.

Gpaerfiriiki, cited, jSo.

Corney. [i. Gkmrin, liocribci fir? walk
in Hit, ipo-i,

CornXiU M4$ruiw> dud, 141.

Gcimdi, -V, cipmltu of Bocctri^i
dinntution* 157, 377, on Eulfcxj,
d 55 ft f 3<*rm

(jorionai, Mniyfhtm tj». leilifirt to

^ rrflnic1 Lapaxdli'i rfonfUloiu

HJ3.9,

f jottbjengo, J, B. ktitotod. : t
CrxdLAW. poem on St Trxesa, Gftp
fjTMcntii Hike ESi., drqbvLnifi, i'll-!
Orettenthu, 7.

CV-." j-J Trtz i t CnniinjU, tin Si, Pin I if.

.Srfi'i dcvniiotoE irdcniTj jio.
f^patny, Mrt 4 r. fiber Annie
« rimin'. |>. W rr .4 luntdllntr nnr.

HjuvLi imprrvn>ii» wj firr.

\pa-

Cjiipiii of Viicrbo, |Ji,, in ill ifpj iqitii
<jf food, 393-

CSrtvdll* Fr.. orden St. Veronica
Cinliatu m lif oiiv-TipTiJ. r;t

Ntn.j toring without eyot.

miynLtilUi, -j-jiy;

^ 3fis; punnet wilh of
Maiv nvomoj,

Cmt-j, t^witra, lmuti-4,
i.tai)tn, Sir ifli a m, wofinl cf
ffcuoc + i Imtuuiiiiy from bumttut,
165^,

Creuby, MJa. Muilie Fanfhrr'i 411ml,

! m* 3 ft>' 3 . 3 ^ 31015 . 3111.

Ciiiinpiffli, ii!., mulitplimJ iJM

Cuikqiie, ,'ibtje, cited,, ifl.

Cuthbrrt, Fr,, hingrupherofSt Ffuzieix
of Aiosi. 5,

CniMn-ri, St, inL-firnjpi, 33^. 267.

f?.il >■ rt_ bsofraphTj Cif Sl Franck of
Paula, ijy,

Ehna, AndLOfty, on St. Peter Hcpilwu,,

.■L.-V fowv-, fa ihtottnf Emba,
cued, Cauipter XHl jbmnm. '
£? 4 !.j> fiftnltt, cilrd,

Ratty d/,117, derj, y- r _

£km> chod, 372.

I,*

XNQE3

Tdt£t$£h, Lord Adair \*s t
corrtjp-wHicni for, igS.

DjLtjjjk. Ffiftcus on Su John IW*y.

Daniuiit'lJi, ETizalti-tK, vnttrcsaf St.

Catherine tk' Iticci’i rEii^.
D«ijv>-r^qr 3 It., on Cax of myiUOit
ftpcnjaalir JJI-il.

■ J' G., Mrc Cmad'i doctor,
336 *.^,

Dadd, Abbe, ccnJVnoir of Mark-JuJir
jabeariy, *32.

I fatity, H. If., li-iilj Su&hjicolt, 386.

si*** m

Jiiioi i M..rrb r '...LluJitj Sara 11

Jacob, Jti8.

Dilflrr, TJiwmu; Vialches Sarah Jacob,

36*

Oeiifoyue, P. J. C, Enai tstt la
Mtralt, cited, 7*.

D* Stmw& £)n wnr ipppf

Btntdicl XIV .died. e 7, 71, j dj,
J5T. 30 f -

Daroy™. tk^npitet of Su Ikocdtef
Joseph Lahre, £&hk

D&pioim, Bahnp of Mysore,
wiuir-ise-y fare wall. 187-4
Drttoif, ! J artm, arcouiii of exhumed
bex]^ 1..: ItJ Anns Marin [ jiigi,

UcuUeh. J r , hmi Ihtfi-i.i Ni-iitrninn,
gS&t.

Devie, and VnitprUi-, Hiiteit* ^/-nrrair tie
Lm^.,ldoi t cite !. t 8 o.

IVr-Jnr, biographer of 3 t Paul of the
Croat, 047.

Etbdrcrical Society, invcXigata iptrjt-
lutliulc jJamrKiitni, 3, 183, 19^7;
afl^n, i! 3 {n, tf-Oni.

Di iltg. , .-,r Si CI -j 1 h-r.ji 1 ■ nf Sji-i - ;j , 13n,
i+Etti.

Dittimvf rf Maiimat Riagritpki, 011
Ann c Mmw, $8 Itl
Dr. I'liw^iUn fApcltgiU^tt, died, tun,
tU TftfUMgii- CtihatiyM, riM,

* 33 ^

CMacm, S| H incorrupt, 251 a.

Dtcijeh Paul. J.:ifndaJ itjj^matk* 71ft
Diodary, Sairr. companion of Ffujilen
Crogi, jy.

403

DiodiiLc* tfeb' .-WiiMJtj lj xjgrajiliff of

Si. John Joseph of tie Ctrm, 2jn,
Ibyei ami Lii^arui. parabJe of, 109
iJtido, BI.. itufUfiue, ^9-40.
rViirreiUCl Barbii^Ei, li^btnetn, ~on,
Diimfntca dal Paradise, caiiir. | |, rr;
mtfKulDui Cdlitmunlaiit, t^w,
tnuntsiif- 1 mm J i.wming', 1 77 j
rloiupucd. 341.

r'Ximinn Si . tevi Ultcd, 7*®; ie^n :n
i-tsroD h'. St, Catherine .if Siena,
13a; noi mcfirt 1 ipi ,

PfeitUnk of Jan Maek. 03 . H kHjlI

raptures, 14.-5.

1 kindmc_.ro. contro%my 11 i,tj rugmila,
f> e n; Cknerd of 21 Cj.
ibninn, Sit tf. 1!., on irtrpalhy, gas,
Demtojwiity, Th* Bnihtt} /Carama&r.
cited, 339.

Douifui, Mis>, Horae 1 1 fire tipdntniti
31 hi 1 1 ne of, 184-5; mtnrav-J bodily
dcmguifin, 197.

Eiranr, A. T., .1 tr rraiuiu Ripfmt},
Mother

Dublin Antm, Hlodj gort.

Du rhate k-I, T'irrm, tm ciiLumadij^s m

PwH. 356b,

i’niHai. Geoiifri. on lti^iuu, j,| n 57 ,

7 ®*

DuJEraven, tkiid Eul of* rrxetwi

ween 1 lctt ill Home'i ptij.npa[H)n.

^ 95 -

Duiutubk, IkhJw of Auffiniioijji

Cancan, 3411

Dim fdijr, Thd Jiirjii -jf, Hied,

'Humtan. Sl, S^iiaied. srfj.

Durattil Jowepbinjc, Hit, g^i-Ssi. g8^,

f, t.irrftQrti, LoloirdEi nf Ober-

y*eEinar't cr.nfi3nr, fin.

Edtlii of iSllton, St., oUegtsj jjTevrv*-
linn of (htrnib, 1 ■ \ _

Edmund, 5 l_. Atr-lihiiLi'ip (if Canter-
bury, levitated, 36: incorrupt, 335.
Faiwind t hi Cont'euor, Ss , meonxept.
= 35 - *

Lifiiiitnrj, lumsnoaj jiidiancr, ega,

Kin hard. Abbot, an tnmlmJon of JiS,
NfnrrHiLmu and Peter, 1183

i u 4 TllK PHVSlLU, PHlUiyifESA Of MYSTICISM

!'&■*■ Uf ■ ■' *1 s Utf •■ mi* <rf' 5 i Franr m, 44,

4ft; vtk absence of iifar BWftii, I jt.

ri irt I ni b. Sr,, Queen of Portugal,
mul tipfkjifuiu,. i^nji

fiH=abeiL Si . wiintue* M. jujiyiu'*
Slifidr. lyy-lj,

Elizabeth, !Ufniii1u h non, 404; liul,
I art vM kirrfv 40 fJ
of Hcrknijodc, itignialif.

4*l-tr *0, %> 77. tlrti. *17-

FlJubeti. voo Rntztr. liJ.. wizneulm*
CfflrmnmifPiMi, r^S; fkii, 341.
EIIjoi, Dr., ^fi rnpiiwi Icrij* <u$| JW[n>
C^ruscl, j4j,

i-lbulLp Dj.. in- Mli'llii F*n riser, j&j.
iijilifge, st . incorrupt, i 3 _r f
ID r, U. ljiij (W, in,1 I "hem* Sm-
Otonfi> itigmam, ijk
Erne*?, ffiihtjp, |»ni Nathan Coker, 1
Erniiu ]>r. EEatkltPck'i ur-riant, *5*,
wilbouE c>ct, 33^_

Emma, Qiifni. fable yj vullcins,

r; 8 .

EuimcfiLli, AMw Ctthemie. liable m
Ulggntinn nearm-i, ; 1 tigmau.
l ^'h lij 4 * 7 : tart, W3&7. jaoj
vinotu, 3 |)S; diiincUnalino for
food* 5PI, 333; rdwtum to 1 petit
yf viiiutiL ^ilaekoLWj,,
■rptkwn rowfdfdt, 334; ( llfiri
to wallow, 965,

I rtim&ru C-i on rtfar m^lu, sjj^o.
Eacum j- X«vamto, Lormr^, fothtr of
Hffliritr of Granada, 1 [ t

Matina -Hi*. nrpj\Ti rivvtiical

capotual mt® 440.

FxqiKTTM, tajpez, on Sr. TfftttV
rounded b-n-t, &8u_
fmo\ : hk^raphrr 01 Mary of Jena
Cnicififlii, Kill. .'3 j r
EthriilrnJa. Si., inemupr, jjj,

ElmJts Csn^litonti, ciUrd, 68n, nyn,

n+n, izi, lafln, 3ig.

EttfipfHU*. UE; S|_ Sever i nan,

Sbhjw (Pal lads no 1 . Potbd&rc vupEtut

of ruppr»<M| I enrol lew. 4.

Eiwbiut, cited.

Fbwachi, Mr;?., order 1 St Vtranfaa

Giuliani f,.t tt^Eie tj, *r<nufi( fl f

Ikt iligmauukion, &1.

Kv.\r-,, Lewis, on Mon, Tharnaj..

EMlyn, Jolm, iharr, ntrtl, 176^9.
I'-ViOlrJ, E Jj , , and klaie oe T~K j , ,a
Ntumano. 205,

K)1nliiin, valmury mupJi, of, 544.

1 'abri, Siiiu^ — ^2 Morns de

U Vwudon, 87. yo-j,

Fflgn, Irkignpber of St. \ ;nrenS
Elui j, i|j r

Ezhi^l Kalian, on Thema ,\oiinHiin,
114, iafl n 9 (j£.

Fanrhrt, McUtr. aiJtpter Xftl ^tu±m;
n'idftitf for Syr: diuinct ptr-
tonajftiei, r 11; aluutuuit gif>«

; 111, flu], Jf )?i 333< 3G5- :.‘-t rvtih-

iSUIry^ jaa. 334: t LSriiriii!,
P**", 339 J parallel Hfkh c.H f
|L 1-r.1t,. .,74, ti , Mary

3^1; j>, HaBimrni,l ’i

lir.ii-

Kdiec. Siitcr, on Jn-iLuiini of Puju,
Cn^, 29.

Felix, tritPsr^pJier Sl_ (oJlblac.

F^r-i* of 1 4 nnilFr:t ( Sr., al»-rtt:e of :inx
ni/alu,

FmonJ, » -ie*:tnr, ntyitkal nn- moi-

*31 ■'h

I'eYEEinand. Kina c:f U.ir Rum.-in.', inJ
Mar^ajTt Scy&it. 359
FcnSnwiidodi s Luigi, !»iogup] L -r
Oim-an ni lUtlitla delta tenure-
Bione, tSn.

t rrT *r.i. ClfttinaJ AntrbWbop oi. bio-

a ph 1 oi .'mjjifilo P*jt1 - ■ded.lcaied

l0 > 394-

FctTfcei Hmrt », A. a, intulaxoF cf

j/ r .1 - £ i^n

I m,v (j,eor K r. Mi-ietl, Padre Pkj’i
uigmaro, too-i.

IVLriller, butgn^lur of St. Rsi\r ,i

liriui,

FiYltilu a, Siipiixriiiiri. St. stale ^

taltuuiffll Imdy, 347 .

fUippo dett^ S-, FriniiA, biographer cif
III. Ctamlat ol Jen] MarU, j^n.
t.ifitti, «tount of S(. PjiFseu'i
% 47- 49-

> T

LVDEX

405

Hihfi, ttue «f dtaaocuikm. in.

I 19, 1 -4tt.

Flavtgny, c!c, biography of Sl
of Swcdet*, i; j.i :in .

FoggLS, fu’^rimajjn u s

FgiJkn, Sc,, mirodti, 38511.

Fudub^ L. M . I ;..vr:j,iir.- H Maria
ddla Fordone, jitto* 6$n, 1 13515,
273ft, 34^ft-

Ftin<o. Jhoan,.: driLo St- Galiietiiic o|
Slchi', con Fcnfp 346,

Fournier, UiiiiiLip of Nuitet, u:K;Mr.i
eU)IClVlliOQ of A tarip - ji^jc
JiWay, %,

Fowler, R,, ,:(t Sj1r.1itjBtt.1b. ^67. 3680,
2 % 37 »»t 37 * ft

I tiDtr-i. Sister, nod Vco. CiovittL^
Mama drEln Groce, 1413,

Front *-i tH Rocu^ St., 33771,. 3m
Fiaiicor*. Suin', iniin to St,
Vmuitj C^iubTi (Miniitt, Cn.
Franeeschini, C. F,. biognphtr of St
Silvester, -2 £Qr.

Fiancii Jfcrgi.t. St., iiarr of body juter
dcntl^ 350-T.

Fraocu Gancclnlo, St,, itaie of ib-xA
body N 24:?; flow -of UToH.xdj. 39.3,
Frauds Je Sale*, Sr., mu favoured with
Dtigmatm 1 34; MJttmniJtd by
hriUbml tight, t6 + ; on 3t.
StaBuJain Koilkii iUtlinsri, ;

tK*iy after dc*th, 347*

F r ao iiri di, Griwaloio, $t,„ thov of ldi»l
B^CCT nr-alii. JjBd-S,

Fr.iJicir cl Audi, St., htYiiated, 5.7-

II tgnuin, ChujUrr 11 ^jmi;
Iruf'ntTi HL Andtnv Ibeninn, 221;

OO L'v![J.' J tir r ,..[ inmiTUji tinh , j ■

a Trance of rigor Wrier, 371
hf ontii of Prfuk, Si., mimlmr frnm
burning, <74-6; state of b-pjy .u'err
tl^th 2*7; rumnintltd by

radiaoer, it>8.

fritti'ij Rapi: Li ',-1. Mnmcr. biogr apber
of (i) Sl Donutdr. 7,. ftn, ( 0 )
St Catlieiinr dT Siam, ijj. 1454,
i+fln, 176-7, 445-7, '»i) Mother
Margaret HaLLidioti, 274.

Francis Xavier, St., evidence for
Witaiion. ft-g; nol £ivuumJ with

2 T

ai%rr^i-a. 1 34 ,; bOtiOlttCTi, ftp|j

incorrupt. 236, jji ; multiplier
tioitt, MU

F r anriaj atu COn Inn'rrTv over *tig-
tnira, ft tit.

Frarniieo dc Fcmvdju, RJ,, levitated. 31,

Sir,fames, diimttJoi ftre-woJG

■’-i-! f?lJcnojt:ena, 190

Frtntz, E. Rattz von, On Tbct&i
Ntumann, «nr,

Freud, Sigmund, on lijnHcria, 103,

1 Urutr SlCTTTlr dc [a, 1 sn

FuUcnon, Lady O.. biographer .if
Euistf i’Jc Cuvajsj, 25 ,wl

E iinujiu. Clara Isabella ds, lc\-ilatfti,

YuniKU Mmr. fail, 334.5, 3^7. 3 S[,
3 ^ 3 -

Fi&cr, tperQnirtn>„ twgraplicr of
Gtsfcstbno Liviiu da Laiiuia,
3B9, 2500.

Glhliit, Archanger, -53.

1 1 ahflet, Fr., pin St. Er-rarg oj Aviltt.

fiSn.

GahricS Powjjti, St, hoi im»mip£.
ifo,

Ga%JUii h Gemma, ifiKmatie, rj|, 124;
fet El -■. Ic.! , (TJu^biiTory,
dwpc Wt wo until, y.,- periodir
hkeding, 67, -m:.; r>;>C 4 ranee -if

"wmdu 90-I; ibtfi 7 «;r ofiivitfrifal
tymj.mnn. 101 f hoJil-lna, co-j;
ROririon iff w,mod. dbpl ace-

Ml of rite* ;i =.

GaJJfliyhirr, Mils, I er«a Higgintnii
tefen to, 316.

Galltdiin, Fr.. nji St. Fhflip Nrri. i 4 ,
2iin.

Gari:cro, Vruia, fiat., ^bo.

Guidnef, F.„ SJju.

Cl mid h: ,:.!!/ y, biographer t-i Sl
Jalin «f liis t-rn«5. 351.

Gaixia. Jerome, wftn rrv ? Anthony
ManpJ'* Levitation, ra.

Gatn..r cj .- flonu. Bl., Levitated, J 1 ;

amse of bftk after deatii. ayo-fitj,

Garpur dr I Iii. t ,t3d-g

Gassendi, on luiri&otu phniiwnwtt

163.

*o 6

THE PHY&lCAL PHEi'rtMENA OF W YjTIEIiM

Gencim, ArchpriEUi <1 Rivifji

iip fcligmatA n{ Ill, OmriiM
Andrfiisi* Gi.

C^fi3i!i, i-,n curvature of St. Vtttmjrj
ibinilijjcf,

Cfenifcli,. It., biotrraijher of kasa Maria

3 ft™. sain*

Gerard M.ijclljii, Si, r acmJ rap«um l
Hi ^iJ «u®c* from body,
tf bliyxt 395.

Gcnrd i?j‘ Hotthe:?, 17:.

Ccrlitii, I 3 r. t •• »rs f hernia iN'c unmn^
1 1 4.1 I z 7 T 1 , i 3 ^-g, 3 j fn 52^11,5144,

Germain* 1 tm*irr, St. i^irarrupi, 241.0;

rmJuplia food, jcjo, 1 r
Ccrmantp iIl S. SiaiitiUki, bsogtapiitT
il Crtmmi C%mu, gjBm,

9H1, tor, tsjn.

CcEVue Jtad JWttvSS , cih-rntBEKUi.
2%,

Oajitr,. Cr>i:r>(J, an Jueniucmj phmo-
tnena, t6;i.

ClLtm. Mcm. ruiy, tuiitiea to rkuu^.

lion, 199,

fikdota, S ricr, ifetifra to St. Vrrunita

Ouilijju'j TOUjilhft, fin.

IlifianJ, H <1 Ldrcf

flrt.JtIii.nry , pnlMcutn

tn M Jacob Case, J7i
<,r(£ll, i-jfln,

CQ» of A^iai, {]},. inrm innlpvl t Jy |,gj iE

1 69,

<jrkj£iisiuijn j , ^ Fllrppo-, Afina Maria

GallnsVi c?nff 5 S[ ( f i 109. 30a

Ciort, Jiaho de, an Sr. tVrmrri di

Gwmiuho, oft?.

Cifl-Mii, ML Sdn# Mididk, dl*L q^t,
3 $tn.

Ci " v ™ adla Croa-, myitical

ri-tum] riitf. | 39 ^ U; tH2UVt y ritll

rojTifiT*, J rnuliipJire food
395

®W»«d Batrmn <kfi* Ommtonr
serial raptum. |p. fl
Gim.ah.Tii UuoTio. BL, iiunmtu fm m

udriimjj, 175,

C Ktvnid,„ M Fr . ( tn St ] jrwoird id Pun

Main ice, aj&.

Gmii.tnu, biographer trf Sr.

BnnHivi,

Gbbter, J., hms Jfffirtijr, J7t>-7.

CaiBBii* Jew, t hilij SVuicT. ■574.7.
fjodnr nf hn^iulr, Si,, cIfLE'ifii! ol

blcHxip 283-4.

Cdtdic, Fr, biri^phrr n5 St S iTiriUi ,,

K (tn ka, J<*j.

Goodwin. hkngtapiwr «i' 5 b Gutblnr.
^rr.

Gortluti. alleged k-.-ilalkm, $„

11 rjeia pi, mi St. fpraa ttf Ai-iln. aju
tinuuda, l -Lii- dc* ccrii r>ifor and
biugrapftrr of Maria J(. U
Viiiiarioa. Itf, fjfi, 901; sudrlcti
death, 3?.

Gntfu-s, I^o^raphrr uf St. CaliicrLOp- <jf
Halk^iwi, 2^5^;,

liTf^ry IX, Pop*, wdrfit £l Praiu-i*

oJ Wtvi"i htapnphv m be written,

tircRory XIII h Pwfic, *H 5 .

Grntory Xcuhaiiicu, SL i oOtnur of
tinciiry, ^13311,

Grt^riry t/'lotin, 17V, * 3 J.
Grc S or y the Gffn(, Si., .icwrriba ..ter
* 4 ' odtmr of iswurtitv, naj.
Gffisi-tfctje, Rubai, tninb cruilci r.||,
{[£9,

Groitcria, Gaottr of, -> n Si, Pn»ci> uf
PhuJa. t;^.

Gutpiii. hki^pltcr St. jMapbnt,

a 5 i-

Gtunuid, Juii, cm Sl Duniinic^i
loitation, 8.

Gtimej and Myrn, J B , J rrartiTiijv Lr ^
faiiur, cited, 1 fy;,

GiLttep)^ Matin, tub tot
llvr l -w tkf Ambritiv Marftii
1 *111, inn, - 42 in.

Gtmie, Ldube, fxi|, jGi,

< onhbr. St. odour of i.Tru tity. 12+
f.iuy r HmpittJ, nunn from, -jfjo;

Ouvnuon, gji.
tpLumaa, Mmt cbj. (10.

HuiJi 3 oci r J'. andPjjtfruM.

Hwd^rii. ^4.

Jlncri^f, tt^pckiiiTTi, 322.

HtdoJmn, Maria, riirj, <J6n.

HftR^vd, $jf H. Hitjcr, ^

iriiei,

imjla

i‘>7

BaU, Mr*- ^uulH-1 dirief, [i»iiripju^
(n Hcmje'i fire cjyyeriinmh i&f.
Flail, Sh'tituirl Carter, head innrtijij*
I'rom fittrauftif Coal, i£L|.
l la llu h an, Manfiirft, aljcnurc of ngat

llaiJibmi'uii, on coj Rotation of blood,

Hab^ Deu Lad y of, miracle at ihrine,

I l«.

Huiiaii»rid, W, Ft., tirade ^aim i
St. !lir Kanrhrr nrpj ulhen, jitf,

3 ’ 24 , jSif-3; fatting Girit, citod +
SpjTttuoti\m md Allied Ovuct

W Gmdtiimj of Mind Dttmfmnti,

cilftl, 3Tin,

Hiwir.n, l 1 ' • 'Rfsphty nf St Frandi dr
=47,

\i nrtij «■. K.., tm Sc J rjtniTL:" r ixiyjmuin
t&*> 33 - &-

Banu cel, Mr.JujricE- afienvAfib 1-nni),
Iftd Sarah Jiicob CJU r A 373.
Harnatfe, r&hoti.-.lritic nsptimaN-jn ot
«f uaiCTlty, LC-jjti
I i a truck, K> on Hfvr umrii,

Fbrri*, Mr , Mn. Clnoed'r piriiiniun,
Concerning, 333

FI art; Mr,, {bond uitmimity from
Ijumiit^, ffla-j,

i laril. Fr . f lur^-'t Ntmnmti and, 1r4.
BatYry, K. N\ + ini nulitint phenomena,

163^

™* 6 ii t*) "'I jEtam tsj < h-r..^

Ibudte. [>r. F cm Tln-raa NfLUtoUUl*
3 =+.

Ha verbal, Fran ret, titrd,

H^r, Man.' I lirjrenr, jE' 5 -,n

J*, bkf^rwpher of CalHmba
Schonaih. 14-.<!ij.

Hnnnun*s ( Vfn , wintraa immunity
From Wruioi;, 183-3,

Henry, Ik, Urtinlii of OiKrrwtnniaf i
tiMifru^r, ti i ,

Henry VI I, King of Finglojul. iGom.
Hcrh-rj, Dt, r on Mint dr SiblLc-
Euphimi c Pelletier, 2 38

Hednnt,, J, A., Cslalepu qf flwMfmrr*
ctlrd, Ijg.

Hi-rundj, IVniim, mgmaiK; isrjn.
Hero, J77*

Heyw. . -J. IV,, ^n, 4ftn-
Hierro, Senna Je, oaAofhtJtsv
t^3l, 33in.

Ralph,

Hfcgiuian, Tem*, tack of deep. jo8*

vur-nijj;, jt|7; ijiiinrliiuiid;]
fur food, Jmi, 331; reluemihie' 1,.
:.y-cnk 01 vwmiui, 307 ; I r Art cor, 315 ;
alCinlo-M hy citr [fevtl, 3f6-[ 7 ;
nrurqiiCj 3%,

Hiliinuk, im Su fgillim'i miracle*, sHjn,
ffiitam if i'Arodimit H*yy 1 ii Jn i',.:.Tit in
cfinl. jlW>n-

fftitwixh* i’rik-J. if}, eiird, yin
Hittiiru;^ cit«J, 3JE1, ^In.

IhjJn.vlJ lirii ; Sjm‘J k t n i rariilrjcitEy
cuaeri m, gr-j; M»try ThojiiSj
vUiu, |7fl

Ffnme h Dookl fX 11 Irvila-

b)ii, 3-4, ipj; immune E 'mm
tHiminC, llolirii ipLti

to lire, rf)iO; luminoui raduutr.e,
a &j; bodily eJojucjailon, *<»3- , 7i
™»I expiotU Ian poKreai, an j.

Hortkgbrtjrr, J bt.. ■ 1 fed ilj.rn

H-vpkd;i„ MalLheiv, protecutia wiirfirr,

Hovnc, tie. rat TheRaa Nttimjiiri, tuo,
on Mollie l attfhrr'i fasi, 330^

Hiigd. Ibrnn F. v-ni. fis fit. CiUtirrine

cj aiOJ. j rj- 14. jy6™|y p

a 36, 34 fin-

H'UjrL bormn^r vim, biciRraplier of
Si- £VriitJCiljr:i- oi Sieiu.,

Huifh. Si r , Btnlsrp nf ianroTn, inooitupi,
oil flev n from body,

Flcajjh^.i. I>r,. on S,irah Jacob, 370,

3 ?ie<

EliiiiijiFiirr, mrii, 313*

Eficnir! , Mr*- Annie, awi^rr u { Fiant|[jji|t
line, iGG.

ffumre, 'iTloruiii <» Mar, M.inpjrct
-if the Ajageis,

iicinc, A, F., on tiyrteria, 103.

Htiiiiiii* m, [>r,, ud Maiiur Fucltf,
301. #

Hustrv,. n-epttrisrti. 3M„ 3 3 g t jH*,

Huytunan*, U i lu.Wtfr-t'jr, cited ’ jjn.
Ky>(ikp, on 1 >U 7 H iisher, : 1 1

THE MlYllCAl PHE.KIilP-'tAi ■AJ’ HYITJG&lt

Jamfiirthua, Irvimiioan, $, Of

it/|kj If nij , Lrtr:|, n>}

IijTtii!;tji of Loy.u, S;, eirjifnifcr hit
trvrnn .■■,£!, H; tJEiOvrli Mii^Ukn j
lie U Cnw. tiiinnimld by
M&wi light, sfi-j- iGS^; quoted,
i£8j not Imthijir, 3^1.
Imtrcrt-CirHtrbeyTr, Divnri (il kviuitrd
S;iiniH_3S, iii HignuUfjiritxi, gtjn 4
40°. 10 *, am. isgiv (Off

Mrtfvrjullc JflhrtnQy, 5*1,

1 tv Jfiimn SI.rLami), yiu,^, & Jb

(v) lolSPItt (if opOLUal, I

(vi) B.fiurl«tiHf nf tttt tmety,
# 02 -$-

Ww JpxwaI fit MtttiaU ami Phjiktti
Stiffi-f* Tru, cird, JJ&jtl.
trwpimjkpn, wmtoiuxs t-thjpctu jn>.

P"*" 1 * 71, @3. pa, t#

ii^bd, Empr&, %,

QjMUHJ of Spain, 4ChS St. P Wfr
■RejpifjLtLii, slkt.

Ilf., 17^4,

J*CO^J. F.V.U1. l.jliir r of iSandt jiCnb,

Jucoli Mr-. Evflii, miHSurr nf Sarah
Ja^b, ^e>7, 373*3.

SiiaJh butinft child, 3GG-7.3, 177
l*eobtHi ( L., Iiiogfiiplurrof JU A^eW
tii VUfi-uriD, 17771.

.]:■" j"' •' fait. .■

J.ilnmnv, Mjiric-J.tbc, 3^

S3, 69, Ifi j metical tsptkfulj,
*|>i * 3 ft . 339 *i I ihoftening of tody.
207^1; (kn. 33^

Jalnc tfr Cwnpo K.-^ro, Fr

uilfatlr of SL, jliiisr.rt, I-.7,

J*or I'TJUKa cfe C 3 tua(a] h St. inrotrupt

* 49 -

Ltncli, I^mrc, tm (fi liviimi, 1o^, iq*
tii} Iconic, 1 it, (jii} caw af
Jiwrit iiiM, 11 r*i ’j; impriulity

J jankssr. Fr., viiio ftiiutim of flL
OiftTwn Aininsut i>?
j HitlLlfiu*. St - bv Sr John

[. ftcpli of ihr Cross,

Jdmlfii, Mm a, bn, 377.

Jrilrr, I Ho^'aph'ir of HP Crexcmia

Ili>.t, 1.93,

Jcndtox, i i. D. p »iiorspi (f) fmmutitty
Itoul Lurruu^. tH/^4, ftf}
elongation,

Jm-mv? ArmiiUfis, St„ * lifted fra;*
r a nee mI Otlitii .icd body, .'4;)

J firm life fiun> <if Bimcfocn, testify to
Si- ^tuiitu 1 ! mptun, 6.

Joan fl "ire, St., coculrsiuiiitttifi. Hgn,
JontiiLi .Soilcrifiij Iff,, wiitinan TOiliudr
ol St. JuIiauLi, cjfiiL 1J 7 - 3 .

JoJin, Si., EvatojrlLa, 3pcn iii viiitKi j>y
Si. Caifitrinc of SLenj, JJO r prp'-
nn H 'U St. CoklTcf,. i^gn;

fci-elatioti eh Use Id? of

* 97 . 307*1

Jcitua a S. I'jtttimJo, St., not incorrupt,
348; U]jie of time bdoft
tiiitt iij rqtidlH, ^t.

_Jobn &ipup[ dc Jft Sai>, S|„ ujne of
Uxiy jftrf Jcaih, 248.

JilEui IfcTEltimia p, fitr* rmi rcif(irrupt,

Juljn. iv>jicr ,, Sl, itsidilplirifbod,

J0011 Cuntrij*, St., aJlffEd ini:(jft-utJlioii,

350.

J0E.0 CaputjiLH. St.. wfuuH) IwdiiiW
ttlilaitr of niliuniiiin, *'J7*
.JoJio lie Kiijra. yp, w K
John f iihrr, St., m*o-s
J dm Gudh^i. St, p c mirr, St. Hfter

r-:n?Ey to 'indtr^i • fifty oi-jra], 1

JuKt. Swph of Uic l™, Sr-, ItriiiptcdL

* .

J-j'-ip ?st;LETta 4 , H| , l -, ,'itat(sh 26,

John Js cpomuccn. St,, Putgut prrKrvetl

im crmjpt, j 4g ,

JoiUl *lf \HtCTIIW, Df., VtMOIl pf St.

f’lTumu, q(

Juhtt of IfcvttW, Sl.r txjy rrisfl^ nil.

]e^io oi Sl., inrurrupl. .^y.

Joren of PiriDji,

JoLjI rff^SAnij, Hr., tibgraphet

"E St Prlfr d r AkaJHafn. jff-
Jdw p f ihf Cmm, St., Auilmry. 70-
not fin oared >iith ntjftijjta. 114;
menmtpt, t$t : rfTuuon or h!«xL
*§i*

Evifl, on Sarah Jacob, 3^7-^;,
370 -

Junes, Kr». Tltd frit Mollic Fanchrr,

3 *$

' r3 1, J ■* biogT apher or Si Ft lcu

or A&dii, ,fQ-

Joui| 5 }]^r, Si,, iiwcirruin, *51.
jL".T* f ]U CkJai-mcalm, .Hr., .tatt rtf I.ndy
ftfttr iJodll, ijy.

Jswejlb CanftdenKO, B1 . niultiplfci food.

Jcwrb nf ( c'jji’nimo, ill,, Irvlijui'i],

compared m Si. Fern
« Akuminru. *8, (ii) D. D, Home,
itfj; lUiecfdrad body. 450,
Jtmrmi M A/«Jsfuj. died.
j.\:;ntai dti .iu.-.pifr, filial, I 70.

' Jwrmt f^ft-hol^aJ AiMnift died,
3^gn, 3300, 3350. 35411.
'jihrn.-.i y ;ht Stckflft#Pychi cd

Juimdi Rihrr.i, 111., IrdULtd, !f
Juana dc U RtttJttmKiofi, kvi Lel1j=t|, Jl.
Julian of the Cro®, nigmntif, Ekj
Jullima Fiilamirn, St, mlr^lf uj lI^
Halt. 1311-61.

Juliana oi' Mt. Durniliim, tGo.

Julie liillun BL, iiKoiTijpt. 23^

JiwiLti of Hungary, Friar, tericqtod. 96.

K Cfflpr, titrd. ; j4j.11.

K-empo, T ) ^imiii A, biographer of Si.

L-klwiim *4 fiebtafom. 167
Kcr--*ly, *Vrd3b»hop ofSimU, pro 1 , idea
tnAliieal rqfKi.-ii an I'acfrc Pk>,

33 lx,

Kerr, Udy CecU, biographer d t>™

Hlggftuon, 31511, 3 Hat.

■ r. A* M-, OS ilipuly, 3^,
Kliuud/a lUicr, MolSe Faiuiber «*■
ddrvoyuitfy, 509,

Kdfeljft, Kmnti, hntgnjilu? of Bt.

Rliutb'-lh von Rrtiir. i ^tUg,

S-iing F, S„ biographer uf Sl Jwoph
d OipmhOK 1711. j vi
ijm.i, Friedrich, Rimer von. 7 V.v^ ,/
AwjamfttlA, dtnf 1130, n^n.

Lmutimlm Prosper, iff BnurtUci XI V,

Pbpe.

Lanat, 77 W* cited, 37a.

Vnitmuf, on (It Irvilanqm, ]j p
(jj! St. Jiitcpfi ui Cojwnlno, ift,
iiii. hcr-Tft-itiijnjf, rtj,

Johanna, Epimtlnr, dud.

3 , r ? 3 R-

Lftnjf'«n r Stephen, 33, 37,

Lank'-ncr, Sir Ray, on irlrpiuhy, jbj.

jikJ I ur»"r. biographer) of
MolhcrAgnrM irfjenu, tfcu, j'j,in,
* 3 * 347 -

Ijfioj.i, G mnfrm i Has he* dr, in-
cnnrujKion and flaw of blood,

t*ptteUi, Veronica, Imitated, JJ.
jo-im: r| njjnrrd, to^aoo, aifip.,
absence nr rifm unwii*, aSr.

Litirau, I., i ■ jugmaii ^ f,j,

% ^ t -i. 2 r >=t’ fas;, ae»7, ^aii,
3 +i^e 344 t 3^2: dh-

rnrE in Alton tur f.j^|„ ysi, j 33i
lli^rnqiji denounLUd a: impoutlro,
3?4t nnr-ttincuy. 34MH5;
dblike of aUiTvfd, 3^1 (

Iwn lienrit' o. lwjUotv, jjfij: Dr
HjLEtuncnd'i litadr sankm,
3^3

1 I' M AnjiilrJtll da. tiKrflnipitpr

i>l Sl j^uj. 3^70.

1 jtrrait, lEjjunrJ fit the. 3.}.

tdUthttd p Diifcf of, j-.

L.jvaiM Kr,, two KioJJie Fn^Jlef, jii!

“I- 3 H*

1 . 1 ., Mosranfitr. or Sl, Maria
Frarmci Udji* Cjn^4- Pia^hr,

3 b 153- * 3 *"^

Lawn-ncr Jndfai—, Hu. >*frTtirrf.
1150.

i-iuarnr, iijri. UJ.

Lirrn ri, DfunarjU'4. di^ituu-r, 49-50,
rh 4 -&. punclut.-t round beaiL

59; prrV^iC blrrdmjf, tq, tay;

caj^’hiiloiy, 73.fl, idr, 116-7,
m. ^?n,.34[-5: Dmnpand 10 St.
t^Ubcrinc (iouu, at4m t!r»~
tndxtiq firm for goi. 33^ J35m
fonr^' iictv.If 10 sh^ilovr, 363;
hypcrr^nailivcn^ jO?n..

4 lft TIJF PHVJJC^L PI!IJSC'W£,VA Ot UfSTfQ&»

t ffh lcT. Alfred, tin 'i) blinhnh t fion fc
fit. Hio'cut Nfcunumn,

it*,

fx Gxiimlit* Jnnckj i

rind p ttitiJT.

Ixfrbwir. Dr., tiji I,iJ j'pju, Rjn,
35»-i.

itx-Uno), fjtu 7 ,

Ldre* 1 cr J JiiiiiCii Richard run |>nfin|ii.
fll* 17^,

tcxiMrywr, G. &, hiojniijW
, fcphn. ttiHcrj, 3^9,

Lniiulua. PtulW nt Apdlnfilji
Srlircirr, 358.

fef-, *w St* Trvsda nT Amui't $

rpVjtaUsH]. c, , 1'i.L 1 tlk^rrLH fin tlFiiH

txu ,\. EVfpc, 3 yj,

^ *•' ri 0 ''■Fit -■ 4 Etij, 4 ^,

IxtH 1 u tj oFFoft Miidfr. Si. p **ttaity p
1 : tc«l J1DI kept by thf Uttivennl
t-.L' 1 rf k H -'-j! » „ ^Wti r r of r3 J ' i| F

.■nnr.'jj, jj8 .

littfllft tue if diuncialiofl, 11 p.

Lxi fHut , on C* 3 T l if fj.<; tlig, jj'jJHI.

Ixfnh, ‘Hi-irT. (-it ii tlj Giovmani
*73-4, ( Eij St. rmciri* <A
™l“. t74, fiiij Sl Catherine of
Sk.s*, 1:^7. Ik-) Qu^n Emma,
i Tflp <v) fitt-walli nt My»n\ rSj-
■■j’W- 1 '-f' t l*i }}'*mot\ ^slam.-imbu,
cited, I J1, r ytjn; /.j

turpLiil-, Ms Sibllt, ciTCfl. i$3H.

I.»rirc?iE , r L/* mi urtfu (li + aig,

!**»*■ D»vid, tntn*l*r.>r of (ii Lift of
Sl Tc ™«a of Aril*, rtm, ()‘rj 7^
4/ fA* JfcnddfMRQ, a2?;
ol Sl John of the tfr*«L
451, flcptn.

Lewk Ifr-, an £*tahj«nb, jju,,

lxnw Itertrint!, lit,, Imtiinorjii pJlciw
nran, I&J 4 feast riot txp( hy iJtc
Umirmaj Church. ijfii

,J ^ ® 7 B; phrnonirtin *i

<Jr stilt. 279; miillijiIiLiiiu...,, -iij 1

LkUifti, <.f fchfabo,. Sl, hot* appitii
to. isw; k*t 341: nrifutit,
.I'".' - 'W«J. sss: Iiiitj.

SfiOUi pm yitiHWfc I )f|—

Li^bmdi, i'ii hysteria, roa.

Ijrulnjy, Lord ruftr^anij Eari f.F

t:f,v.v(nrtJ 3 ifj M tlrj"' . , hrsditn
tu H«m iJimntliiin from r.mn'Ui?,
iK^j- himjp nnpfniaui eg iirPj
Ipfif witllUPCi 11) kvil.uiiiR, 5.

(ii taod-ily etongqtton, liji-S.
L,-^jhuiuj, uft Mart* !j Vmridnn,
K 4 - 5 .

IJm. Irriip Sf Chtbfnnt fjI ijjrtia li.ici]

firr. i;6.

tililf Ftmtm vf Si, Frtindl. Hi Fiirrttti.
Uiy t «in lummoui phf:i!.'iJtris4, itl;t
Hurd, St=v ip 'ijnnion '.f MaXV Thninai,
T 79

i-iJdgr-r Sr OUvor. fm levi union $o.

l^tinJ$tq>tn, tVi^irr, 'it'jiiipi [iimli-miir
*A Ttuc pmtepiiotf. rn^-
Lonmn, II I 1 ,, < iartj. 44511,

Lartiiio di Brimtid, HI.. IcvtUIfnl, i t,

1 . ludii htagngiftKr of Si, joteph
Clkunflim, 441),

XtIT, KiEEi; tip Ktant':. in'pali
Jraii Cixfra.13, 57^

[ ntvr^ Inti ciiimrl* rrf St. Fntntit of
Amisi in, yj.

[^w!l(i-r f’Jjirtr, <->j|

Lain], ^ n , 35ft,

IjJCil ill LiUlfTiJlhtt v& 1 ',. n i-M.r.

d* Ciwi, »CtL

L:^h^ Hi., Hm, (if bipod ftorn tE.sad
body,

Up'iKif hJafni, III , nifpnntk. fii ri

r.iirtnti;i on itatviJf'i_m,

i.nkaniti of OtJefnnTimiir, uhlrunitc:.

+'- 3 > t^r. tt), 124^6, ( 3 f|,
l-nujui-t,, uingrjjjlicr 0 | Ap»-i Mjuiut
Tai^i, f(*7.

l.yndwtide, Bisjptip. ■ht ft mi 411, . ic),

Eipfjifm at a pieptu prmrliix,

S.U "triup. St,, an, t4rin,

MmimirJi, M>„ pfr»rri^-, lifr-tvsii.

1%.

Madcctizk, Ri. H«s Jainrt Sirvrart,

833 *

\Uc\ .h, Dr rfSiirp cirra.

fit.

Miilrlrinc $et|ilii£ Bmai. Se . incorr:j;n,
9155 1 Itonmittd m * panl fvfdrt
rahimiftTrfui u# f .

» |

IXOF S

4 ti

Xfdtlbi, an ntfijf njorfir, 57711.

MaplnJoti dc h Gnu, rdigioua im-
!*"&», 71 , %.%- 9 o* o 5 , 14a.

\{iiv fT t Dam, 90 Hiema Nriunann,
■(d'ft; ulid casfji.l EiiraJbdb, 2045
.-.-4 \[nll|- F iricher jtcMft,

MaKRtn], Fr Muter, witnoiaAi^itiJa
FauiJ'j tnultipUcnlkiii oT food,

Makr, W , Ibiagrapbrr of Marv Beat¬
rice Schumann, tsjn,

MrirVrdb, I'rancam, witlin to $(,
< -tihmcf vniitdii^ mifacuhxji
Cgnt mtmkifn L, 145-6, (jjj txiit.

Mnlm, Icsmii novice radv™ itlgmatn
ar, in.

Munmw, Smrr. -ydj-lX

Jtfnaiketffr Guardiait, titeL 71&.

Mann, Mgr r , nij Sl Pt-Trr ]^q^,

Msmbot [I>v on &, Catherine- of Gtma'i

345

M ir jjco, Craigra n , ttigmalic yriih

durti IxeracMmUiy, 110-11, iaj.

Mai celli] 1 m Audi I'fltt, SS.* ivtnaini
mmSc bhxiil, idJij;.

^tWtJ 1 r. IxTOV dr Ij, dllQTOf

Stcplirti tic Bourbon, [JHji.

Mandirir, biographer of Maria, VflJjtni,

13 », Ulti, 33.4ft,

Marcus the o«cctiir, iruTAculo'uo Ctno-

ciUtdtHi, 1413ft,

Anthony. fiUt^rd lcvindoiM
ttj-z2- r body warm after deplh,

Mnrta Amu i Ei Cpati, lighter v,
mewruiJt, 360-9; body
rtnjda tiily fluid. j6Q.

Mari.* Chrinun, wife cf King Fjrdi-
nutld II. incorrupt. iLja,

Mati.i dry 1 1 Aisgcli, fl|., miuvrUoui
fragrance, SJI-J.

Maria do hi \ inijiriun. r-!itrii. rj> b:*

P^«i 7 f » g».

Maria delia Pauiaae, Sbter, Irritated,

;i«i tfigmatir, dj, Co; niirACLlifttil

CtHmmintattt, *54-*;. sbsrtM^c nf
nf«r north. -3 5 irptjguancc
J'rotn foot I H 347-8*

Maria ddla 1 Sindonr, Sitter, 155.

M™ di Ce>-j. -Skier, fhn-- ,jf bJ^
Irani dead body, 580.

Maria Pntimra, Aiiicr, rg
MM* Fiucnot dellc Cinque PLapbe,
JlA'iiaird. 31; "UjrjiuiL.C,

mirKljlflui Cftaiimumojis,
odmrr ot jancrily, j_jo,

Mariana of temporarily

incomajiT, 245,

Mane dr Jetut, Mother, Imirarinn ami
ideiinouc Cocrionmjon* 1 eg
M-tnc dr Saim-PirTTP. So [CX, nb Ktcfe
of rigor wafit, a^i.

.Miri* rfc San on ^ Tmssa't

IfAitarion,

Marie d'Oijtrurtf fll , frSqradiy. 35^

iiuiiisu; ift rrancc jrate, 3370 ;
fart. 3*3 +

.Mail' +}u Eai-ipi Gocut. Shtct. h 11 []'
burial. 24.611*

Matir Mar^urriH- d« .Vriga, Mother*
body exudea Dll, J70,

Martand, L, biagmjjhn uf r.ijsiica
Gragi, jr >n .

Manha* 11311. r -7.

XI jtiin, Henry* on f'ndc inginatic^

Marlin I'c-ar'-; Si,, Ai-;ial iuptum, 24.
Mdrtmri. XLucus .11 Vmhttqy Margoj
ai.

Xlartintui ArrhjHV!»t of Lanijcw,

toiiiliet 10 Mutlicf \inipj‘i m
Itnraciiliiiii 1 1 [umoni, 144; [ii

burning fc-rvour. -nyii.

Mary. >nirr, witness?* cimadr Of St,

Juliana* 137.

Mary M^t.’ct.den, Si. Hiensa S T eti-
mann'* vtson of* 113-14* 1*7,

Mary Magdilm, Skier, jBj^R
Mar* M*if; ;,-ilrn, 1 ht. oJ I'jfcio wit-
ItfKCi St Cktlirrinr tfc' ftkcl'v
ring, 137.

Muy Magdalen de' fWi, St. r Irri*
lairiJ* P tiet'oiionjifantoun,.

ait; tncbmipi, 141, laxly

auiiq oily iruid. ^68: T fud ri-
plkaiimu, 301,

Mary Mary irct 6 f the AtuqrJ** Mm her.
man-rilum I>agmnec. 53105 etin-
didart j jJ dead luxJy. 264-5,

; Tft I 1 i TYPICAL rniNOJHE.NA OF M YTH CM V|

4t2

Mary of JrjLEi Cmi iSetl, Siiter, Ini
mted, jty f licaii^ ii4j jmmllom
fnujtance, sjp.

M*»? *i Sr, Kuphraiia Pelletier, Eh,
S5il, 390-!,

Miry of the Holy Trinj ry,

64.

Mary Inilii, Sitter, 2^.

Muifjik, Dr, K. nn dinocrd [ion,

1 H-IS-

MaBenop, G. VL, da, biographer af
Sl lAiiJitrd rjf Pat JMtiuji£>*, r 7-fltt.
Matinrl Li. Piling ol Oris, Ilignniir,
5 ®^, Ml; " rijrAf,u|(p ( i*'* i.'om-
ni^wiona, I42.

Maiiww, Hr., smd jnirmek of HJ. Cw*
VatKti ILuquo, 17^-4.

Mltlllni, MjlhniiC) (Jj,

Mali. iVitEidLii, on St JuJiimj,, |f*R
MlltnJi M H., y-
Mmxwdk l*ro, " ipMt dm*kip ",
iga.

Maynard. Iikgrspl.rf d St, Vmtenr

dc Paid, 3 J 7 ei h a 49
Md jEiKlJftnei. £ui. 3594, 3K3.

Medici, Marie dr. Qjuprjj Mother $f
I'Fa i]k-:, itnpixti Jean iJodraij
iT-i.

Medan uni Jhffhmk. 7 V, dried, lo ^n
Mot ki-jm. IkLn.-t ipkct Si Pisdfir.j*
ill San Sfvmao, 31* agi,

MittiiiiL G. n., hkgraphrr «f Caicdn*

Savclii, Tun, j^an, 3 . 24 JL
IfT ^ue ifthr Ararkink ni’ CUrmuwiT-
FfTtanii, cited, s 3n,

fy*ritUt Jtlia DiiK'-t A Bwto

tiled* aoqn.

Mmrinia, Hilltop Airaro iSc, pmem
fll St- Trreiu'i Icvjmiion, ID,
hirrki, [ , on St- Frunrh’. iti^tn.-iia

3 T- 9 . M. & 7 * 3 ,

MrrLitci, Sidan^, fail,

****** *'$-&** dujilm, dta!, a,,
Mrmrk, tuc^jrapher of St. Wdlunn
jdBlI.

Mfch«*) lk Smilt, St.. IcvtLiifed, j.j.
MkEui), Omrch t 4 Si., proemtitt
quaHtie* d( vkiiA;,

Mi.Uiuid, ftorapAu Vmknnrttt t died,

374 -

Hr- Peter, J0y
Nfigne, cited, 23511, -jyin.

Mlkni, P „ A.. Erio^mplirr ol lu 0bpr
de Bono, jl t jBoil
M klltb (if i iElttnnr, Maiiainr,
m.iik:, 54H, 69,

Mir, VI., bknmipiicf of Sc T'ctcm of

A(ila. 1 sit, 230.,

Mile hell, T. W„ .1 frJicol PijrfuLgy ^
Pfcfuntt Rea mi, died, ii/n. m r f n,
Mgdrtia, Amunio (in. flow tfi blood,

Malloy., Gerald, nn Lou be UiHl^
mgnmu, 55, 59.

Moiurk, " Dr, elnim to have bens

dorian led, n>|,

Mfifllliru, \ ,, >iid>j^nphrr oflU. Arwjrrw
Ttumon, £u n. 3^9.

Mnnin. ttm! Manic Hal, Sfafa ng Mwha&
iiiittirf fm Jfum tt&hr, cited.

Monma. bir^aphrr of the Cimi d'Art,
* 43 "-

Ml:iv!,i! i, o, flinmn ifr. Initcrapher of
Beatrice >;ii CirRiuuli,

Mnminli, Barb,erdc,on fi) Vjfeftft ri L
Oria, Or. 143, BL Antui Mnrb
1 1 “i^if afitifi.

Motiifrmml, Ruben Mnn|u» de,

iiiaTtuiric,

MmiA, Tht, died, 86n, nn, 12530,
316-19, 3.jtm-

Mfwmiunwid, Duke ck, mtpcca Jem

CcxIcjiu, 173

AUtfsrnml* M 'ndgu, crtoH, 9a.

Moo it, Amur, Hup:r,U>f r 3O1.

Morale*, Ambouy (k, 26’ U 0 n, 166,
Moreno, Fmmurle*. bksrayibrr et .

Ml AicboLn Factor. 31, s u) Su
Ajnitr# Aw Elini), ajn
Morins, Rirhjitl iJr, campllrr oi Jb
Amah, $4

M'jrtirr, | :. n U Lois dc GraDaihi, 6“,

DO.

Mflto, mimtq, jyy,

•‘ 1,v ’ ^ fitnion, P»..knnK.;: sceptical of
wpp«ftU^ii*iian t 4i on He me',
nnmonih, koat Ihitjueii:, ;

’ ■ 1':"^, (< 5 ,-. -14,;: lit.!-

p^ipliizaj tiotc, 42411.

4*3

Mrueif, Ik-rilu, « ** Gfflfo Man-

-- MB

■CD.

Murray, St, A , i^UAatSl in Wtilm
i&mpt, ritr-j, %tt-

MivtmrcIiL A, hiae:: .ndicr of St.

Franrn dt CcTOfUTDO* trfJjn
My«ra, I- IV r dtni.

Tin, I|| t i 15 a. 1 ion. 14 1; jiKtumt
of n. D. ! [-.n i.r, iS^,

Mysore, of. wiitvcHei for

**Ml, 107^ t^l.

Nnber. I’fiirrer, Hirr .—jl Tuiin'?

Mil i'r :--jr, t ) j- i.J., L 3 7 -
N&ple*. CaitliunJ Aretlbulidp of aao
NflpltJ, Kinder. Witnrr^ JiJ AnfiXlitM
di immunity Iron*

burning, tjj.

NnpoEiran, Cardinal ' Inlm'i nephew,

lYftnritBhoii, 7.

Napoleon lit, prophecy rrnir rmin yH-;
Nli-e .i-lui, St r Ltjcorrjpi. J74--. I'.i'.r

of blood, ^3,

Men, Thmuus on Sl Cathmne Je"
Hicri'a viijon, 13^9,

Neimi.tnn.. Tiiefna, nit of durond-
lion, 1 1 3 'i^ tiS; fnAt, ia(l, 205-6,
S^ra. 363*6; bek of deep*

park vied. 119; u%niiLa t
305, gao; " revc-tnium M ,
f^7; rpi-SCOJial ((Hnnunicn on,
29ir dldruiiiultrjn for J<x<], 302.
333i ‘‘stasia of ttir* Faaion^. 317-
ijjj tlidike of being olwnni
fW*J|owi the Hoir Ln 374 ;

compared Ur fi] EirlalKtli, sHJtj + (ti}

Moil 1 - fanrkr, gtfl,

Newman, Cardinal. t.

Vo- tori Fltririd. cited, 175. 101, jtid.
3 ^ 5-7

AVJs.' JVdfc Tnbuit, cited. \ tam
Nk-Ma* Factor, EH., lurvioied, gi; un)
httU. iSflii.

Nirhola# of Tolcntiiio* Sl„ effusion of
blood* ji>>.

Nicholas V0fi FI tie, HL* fait, 206,

34 1 ■

Nicolai, F., L‘trCan^tu h itr

■As Tyrol, eked, 500, 7jn, 7411.

Nttii, r^ithat, on ititrmmcB of St- Marl*
Frances^* tkllc Ctnijuc Flight,
55 *^ 133IL

OLIrr, Abld-v tdckkak, l^-j; **i»l
Mpitirr AgUCi of Jenu, 237.
Osnu, Fniticsaik di C&idgilaiie, coin

fewr *tui iiiosmiihrr of rJmmeulea
dal Farads, Ijjjfi-S.

Q T Hdlfy* if. hlosTjpher of Sl AtigrLa,
Mena, 543,

Orfik Dr, m ahumid India, 159,
Gria, Pulmi d\ .1 ft Mmrrdli, rilniiL
Ornim-m [>. RoImtI, on Malik:
Farther, 298-303, 305. 31 on. 3K3;
aiuutai by Dr. Bjmuunnd, 382.
Omocieiia, Beatrice J'* telfdniliel^J
(li^matn, 7ftn.

Ortray, vnn, on (LKtuiA of SL F^neii
470.

i- 7 —ii u.B Aiidretii. fl|,, nipiLa'ir, e-a.
CHanna Lit" Man I in, Sl., J jatL
Quttrui, ,-Crsi,:«i At, riled, 35*.

Osty h Dr., miminet pretended itijf-
matlc. Jin,

tySuiliv.iii. A M . 5-311
Oirwnld, Kin^, .tllfifrd jirrsert'aLion of
Imii, 344.

Cbfitrd, Cotindl of, 33*7. 57-
OtfcTti Ex/chih Ihttvm&j, died, 3.30,
141.

I'nr.lfiriJ! ri? SanSnuiiuy Si,, levitated,
31; flow of blood, sgr.

Pakenhaftl, Lads KUilsmta?, ^44,
fhtkenliam, falil Miry, InconrupL
241-3.

Pdlsdim, Oft ( 1 ) case of IrviuilciL -jn.
lii) imractilor : - fjontmujiKin. i-pin,
dH. fenti of iintlnriitv-, r-2.
Faurrari liintrtia, rm Vrfoiiia l-ns-
AmiJi’s elands I ion,, tify,

Fonuguiu Joaeph, 2D.

Paoil, .Uikiiotr^. irti-i 1 11 ted, 31: jIikticc qf
lijpF Minrtu, 275; onJiipiki* (bad
and dnrrk, 3^1-4.

FjifwrtinKh, Fr , flicoym Julittlli,
I5<in; rm^i. Luctirsmis, ^att.
PtfxEou, on Mifu lie la V’bai adeft, AS
PAf li^ Matlticw, 44,

|T4

■ lit F-tfV --if u 1 1 HI■ I ’>!!:nf_\ Of HYCTfCl-Ett

PdFUoL Mnu^iuvi, insiimjjr from botlH

'«*. 177

] J uridLLur, cm Moflic f-Whn

WJ-

Pmrkhutii. ten r Jn Main? Fandkt

Ju«

*' J *' J,kl115:1 '-! "I '^1-. Why tocallbd. 850;

ia^mrupr. J+U; iiatr of

body, s6o,

F^tu4i,fe»m (lu sUpmius of LotoU,

iWltllfi, IjK.f^TiphtT Of HI. BjIIOU

\'ilF!Vli 3 Li^j.

I'* :r. . rrhi, l-Fotfl.Tipljcr of St, J'.iSTlill
“ Cot»mltn> r

« ,r in Nad, tn-t fiajfiitfc, ^li,

J '- :ii Sl ' ' 3TI 33- m ™ in

\ 3 ™ 4 JE 1 Jfty S"* Gklhrtide tif j Uwii
quote!* 167, uaa.

.Hii .'5 dit G(ua. St., *LL>i.tCJUy, jn ;

licit tATTiUTol yfllh 11 tfh-n.ai ^

Filrt duplicaj, .'15; tUtr ,,f

™ U[D «1 = 47 ? Ijpte d

itaj? lidxirr rxhijnuitsfin,. jrir
nwliipftn fiK*^ jgj L

- i Sl. Xmhrr^ of

Nxilail, Off Si. N zlit;j r s«U T g-^i »

(Sj.

i’auEi.nu if Nub. Sl t ut* S| N.sjjriu,

-Ji

Pn-tcn. P,, dizaf a tun,

Sl. t 2i,J.

Painani, ThaTitaj, TW.< 1* 1*^,

tfM* 378^.

FcmtV.liut. ; { |S3.

t'ci^ 1 . Si., incumipt, vite

!*«k. a. w Sl.. Ir.,,^1, reu ,

HOI k?|i[ fcr tilt Um™*i eta iarh

34( j ; iHmKf rrf rjj^r tfrfffji 2

tW*f dr Alcnitai^ St., rvideoofl (or
Ir-rilannn. j K| ■(wtcrlty. TEJ;
Corrupt, a j .

F'fr dr Swynoifrii, fl, flpstmnt ^
inifiii: Liluuj pFnrlminn of Hcnl
lagh^u.

IVff r Iuiitui. St., fieryOhkatf 17?,

**««■ Uf I.iiTmitKAwx, Hj. a },,. Mr *
iww «tetu* *

Petrr Rryjbtfl... Sl, rftLuu*, of Wood

^ 39 -g. +

tVreiin, £&<***/ dtnJ. m

Philip, Ahibol of Clflirvatae, mi 4
il^uutk, +d-i,

r!, Kl!!g tifSl Miu, g^£ n
_ ,^ 2 -

Hs-MJip Hi TO, S(q ICvit4tn_L r -|- 3 *"j ^

jiUaLirity, 70- pa>| bi-gutfcl with
Otlfttuua, ?um>LLtkl_'iJ by

*Wi ,fi 4 r 1 ; tlrt'ijtinjiiii jjyi 4 >ur,

lltKia; fihi ifirpbtrrsj, hj*,

movrromt aftrr drath* it,,

rorrupi,

PhiUiMpJnriil Ttmmctiatu of th? lWv»J
Scgtf, ^s, 3M1 ,

Pin -^51114111:, yfil. K147
ttitcijry.gs, 103: CtntjjdeirrtligiKa-

litaliufi. od, ti;;5r ,. „,, 1 j n-p^m

<m rtigmat*. 55. PW ,. mImoho
oi iiyUrriril nrapinmi, 101 j High

itmpftKiiirf, at a.

Finn:' .Jr'lin S, :>pirim, bio^r,tp[i,rT of 111
teann Amut di G«u, strji, -otm.

aCm.

Pinto, Fianfftos, aaci,

Pimunrduu, paint ing of St. BrmHrclmc

oF Sietwi, a.^1

IV, Parirr, wt Ifcordon#, Pio d^,
itiiiG, i- iLimlnmtr MWin M cj^
rvo,&mHa dc. on Sl F^Pifk nf
Vamb, t 75 n

111400 , Gipuju purtnait of Si. Fimrii
O# Allqi, JJ,

P“J* V* St,, i lifc of tJisfni body, ail;

(ttuliipliralMMu 391-

Pltu IX. Pop*-, beatific Chartei

^ne, t h_^ on Pz, ii.i 1 u d V>tlh t If 1. >
tfft,

™ 5 ^kg» St * Verona Giulrtlil*
%n* 0,67^ #o. 13311,

PEsnct, 3?7

p0dmC,r ^- fji KtptkaJ Of fi]

3-4, r ti) ksiuizmy frtjjji burning,

Leonora, 4 fl 6 .

otiea, J. H,, 0 j] r hnuT iki ! j- - >ii

b ( 77 ,

P‘iI)Wrp of Sfriyma, S K S?J . aaa
Fr.. I 57 n.

fPtntrJXr .nd EV.,dri, !, ^ph m of
Sl. VUthy Nori, l63f

Ftmlf, Totilpi dtf, r.jfi jjr ^TiUirdiiiD
Rea Lino, u-\ T iEi.j.3.

Fuiratfniy, 4 =, hfaprfffaf of Si,
Van lint Rsylon, 2EkKi.

PtH'llitffa, Mstiit dr la Viiitioon't rytn-
juthy for independence, 85, fyi
P'Wiff. on Sl .Vnjtrk Mdci t -24811,
Poim tEami, Slitcf, erf klnnznct. wit-
urssrt Sl Catherine de' Ricii'*
rinJi. * 37 -

Fr-j on Palma 4 'Oris* Si.
Pra^r.i^, MqH4, «n levitation erf Marin
dells Fuiigoc, jp,

Fliner, Mnfti.m, 111.

TYi tiCc , W. I ninliJin., x 1 ] , 1 i-H, 3 1 iu_
Awrfittfi tf tlm Amrrkan Satitif Jtf
Prrrki >-*\: Rijmnfi, died, ni, iuGn +
r 1 :■ . 1 Bjfj iff tbt ,>i*fay far Psyched

-kVu -“A, ^ 3 in, 185, tflifa,.

[gin, Bifin, ii$n f rzSti.,
ftroiil, Dt%, m " lumoknu idfiman of
PiratHi. ifia-3^

Pr - <\ mrhfn&, StnttOH do, nod cw of
Jmrt (.fajenu. 374^ r
Fuiritr, 4c In, Wosfiplkcr erf Marina 4c

Fjrainu, !([*n 4

t'umrlt, hir-’i Nathan Ojitg, ttk>_

Q^medil, editor or tin- tvotki of S|.

DonavTrrttiirr ; ki

ty.-urCcri-t Jiurfful tf Sdtear, fltftlU 31,
Qji'kif, Jimi l.cfuird, StnpMti, O. F\,
riled, 3@h.

H.IL1U-. J«Kt, hloprapki-r *A St.
Culhhcri, a(j7tt

R^plmrj, \1rl1angr! hrmcrv duifoe in

Sl Maria ftwoa iEfUr Cinque
Ptfl^he, | $4,

ftlyiwMid erf Chpan. tanfruw and
hittftTflfihrf of St. Cjthrrmr of
kr-na, t y\ 145-R, 34^1, 346-7,

ILlVOfi-^Ln ni PbiL -St., ■bx -Ti r.- .if rfa.-
.■JWrfpf, tfjl,

Rcnemburg. [\idk-p -rf,

KevimiTcl tif Durham, un (i) Sl. Onh*
krtld ^7, |H|I Sl. God lit gf Firv
chalt, £84,

Kehl^', M.iiv M • , .vi-ndrrfiij fragmnf'.
ijao.

Rtiuuu;, Dran, ji^b*

Rcvriu.i. Dr., on Madoxne MifaliA
ni^maijk, 5|n.

fifl-m Qilth'rfVjw. eit«L 3,-pin.

il™ ; -Et.Ytifir ,-t u \ijiiiquc -iii;ij,

irg..

Rr.-ur rff/ iffcu - Atmdit, eii«l t 53.

RJl'cra, till imomjptfau tjt Si. Tn uut

Avib, 250,

Hir*M]Ji r Man- M^fdabtfk, wii-
iwt-rl 5 s. QillioinF de' KitdV
ttos, *35*

EUecaaU, cited, 731m

Ktdkard of C 3 liChttiei f Sl., wiineiK-i

Illation, ad; mnlijjjtieatfaim,

391-

Richard*™. far- mir, i;t 5 -^

Richer. Paul, inipartiaEily ryueitionni,

go*.

Rudirt,. Chmicj. ibeurv J fcu tlm fact,
30-1.

Riii (A CAy:ia, St. ( wwniinJ fbrehrul,
43 ft. r j7tL

Kivtra, K| ,- dr, wiiftr-.-.n Atil^fprn
Mau-iJi kvitnlian. tm*

Rocfatt, dr, oat Our ut (iming.

360a.

Rolmnrfo, t.. p on Alina tiarbero, 36 1

Rfafa. J. tl, igij.

Re.*-- n f Untn. St. intomipl . -241, , 1

(Tui|iEpliejiinr» t jrpi,

R',. -: iif Viterbo, Sf , iiHntrupi. u lt

A*, liii^raitiicr ot Pudcmim.i

ZiU5:rii.ini. Sji, ifiOU.

Roittjffa, (ii'OflTTuphc: of 5 l Pidjt’H?.

(50.

Rcmsibe. Frxm;mv*, MjikliHnir .,|< ]j,
mir*euFrmi tjcmnmmincu, T44
Royal Society, 353.

Ruihsrfcird, 377.

Rytaml, Mot, «t fafru Hfaziuvin,
31^17.

S . S:ifwrirtn C., ;3 T.f P *7p
Sjb,vticT, go* k. 1J> 44 . 7 ^.
Solfa-Mdiiiird^ Ginvutinmnatm ■ r H
iT>*

Sf rmml, Abtnif of, on sir.-ir ■ ■ of

fiilrabeth nf ti’rrtnirfai-, -jFI

PHVSIim, PHItftmVM or MViTlUSW

Sabi, Hr. Frat2 L ^

Saluubi, Grnrudtj imkaird, jt-
tai rand i m i Cfli imim nitm+ 15a;

aiiflcflc- tftigtt rattfu, 1175: niihtiii .

pti** tood.

.Siti, r Diujwn tir. winm-u^St, tkthn>
l!if Ricci 't ritipf, 1^,

Saljriu^re, cxpcnmcnu m, gj.
Salvar.-in, irii^nifhhfT of Sl Veronica

C\uhnn K Jtvi ti Q' ,. aa5]

Sakri^ fr., 173.4

Sa.ldJlL^O, HD rtaiLLUO of

Marin ArtclU, ^8*,
St&xnriictU, ll hLi^nrphff „f a.

iJcttmid .Ja OtJeone. ju
i^^Efgcii^nir Lcliuu, 'ji 3 K],

Siam. Cmi, Manjui* of h tinu Maria
dc la Vuiiadart, 0^_

Su^tm, un M<.'JJ i p Kandn-r, ™ 7n .
3«H?. 31 S'15,

*“*» viUttucj immunity truan burning

ifeSi

SaM;J]j, fjt'TtPVn, uJ Srzjf, vwHuidcd
bcai^ <®- 0 ; pcxfiiTiiT at TTMfnml
*»r if'-alil Qj.j n
Sawitiaj'oUf 1741c.

Scala. V tltiUj hosgrgiphrr s t . FkJeli»

* -‘iijpiiutn'rwa, £47,

SchalltaufcJ, Karl wn. cm Min-
FuMiut. 3±,G^7

Schaumc. F, t biographer of $t, WWJ,
buzga, 4 bS(L

Sfluanbri, Dr^ kd rugimti nf Jmui

tmricc, >77.

dint, jsro^

Sciun^, hwFipli iJ i <rf Anne Other-
ine Eauumclu ts-tfb 1375%,
Schoies, J, C* MiAr» ^ fiWim. din*

SchonatJi* Ct iiuiolj."i. tBtriw ttiytiKaJ
^pemui ring, 1413.

SciirTtw, ApoUottfo, fkii, 377.
Vhumurni, Nttry Krntncr, (tjsiuiic,

■ 43m

&hwuun 0/1 ! j’JuiH Ijucait. 3V)
Schwatx, uu St, V c t « I ; JO
Scwmilie, ft. dt, bnp|p|jer of Fiutii
SlClIrr. lift*, jli$R

SctdJjf* VmpettL, ^711

Seeds., let Let" tci Ptnfrair WWi. 547.

SridJ, Df. r tm ‘.ti^ala caie t>! ilirrr-.n
Neumann, jfcj.,

JwiJim, Henry L., arU« Nathan Cfrfe r-

l Bo,

A>«-a_nh>, «itfir-v-i Ini ca-
*«% tSrtIP,

&mil:-..:i. FUatctdJa. ruffes m Veronica
J-apareiJi'» Icvitauon, tffcjn,
Seiaiitui tJ j l)jiv. bttfniuj heat, a; 8, ajo,
^•r ra-: :• Ro&at iNLsrLa. jiboioEtifEmJ b'*d.i
nMiufoutign*, -Z 2 t.

Scmm-Mar,!, Lit^r A phcT o( Bl.

drjjti Aqgdi, sjgn.

Stnciiir, Frmnct’ja dal, pfn-ncimr-i d
uroi manirnti(tpiij 4 rai
S^vultu, udtpur of udcic y 1 :e j
Sttinn, U , BMH^apficT yi. Gilrt ai

Aniii, 16$

^Verimu^ Si., Uicortupl, 3J5n.

■^vird. Mi.rx.irfu fail, < mt m
3 iOrxa. Duh|i.i;!j«» Fujukpu

<^>*r j 1 ^/iUitKm, Jrj.

^ui;J j.u rr *m! Piagani, Irii^rapticn of
di, Dio. ’i B.

ibrnnuir, E , Pint rtt*m w?

A’mUtffTj, died, j^n
SJip.'Vi'itAiry, Earl (>f t win>raj^t juIr
Firi.Lia, 3 , 6 , ; on Doirrmira

l 4 cun t ii:<!ention from Icud.
34 ^; IjttfT t dihl, ago, urn, ™.

v. 5 !in.

bienrd of Cmwmn. ajjn

Mo., on irlejiittiy, ^3 J:

hdv9 * lE ' Jnw d*. o« Fimcii
Suarti. 2^8. tm.

Abbot of Mctit,: Fann,

H aw rf ttood from . | ™l body, rfti
Scyliid, Sf 4 , odp.ii d aociitv
^33.

S-iaum mrvrU. i T jq.

S,'tuL|t Jaqaiu bia^nphet of Pku;3

^ Miin riltflih^nf^ ■)

SuiEth, Ii|-rir. cuffWAdr, ga^5

sr,w»«***.%»»

■ I Wc^impbrr of Sc. frier

Qavov 31 ,

^■■rrnjr... Ckn^ima M ar »^ rdfiroal.r.
b?*ir 75n,

Wu MaHf, ■"]« SulamatKlzo''. « 7 n
koubo-, i 3 6^. '

SpBiijLL-iiuiL Nfjrv. Of, Sl VftfsinUrt

CiuUu:^ 13$,

■SJtetlkimi .LxL’inau, dial, l&J,

Sfimftta® t'flUOioaL :., dted, {,, Jn.

Sp^r, QiarJwnv uG,

Spirt, Mu. duudioo, 112G.

Spdf, S Fleet, an MoLltr Kanditr, -^■ 1 .
3 01 * i° r h Hint, :|iq p 332 t
381-3; aitjudccd by Dr. Ham-

mcMid, { 8 j r

Speyer, BtnEiDp of, 359.

Spiritual Attpi srv, /"if, citfiii^tt, iSo-l,
1 C» 4 .

SpirUun’ttl, Ikt, dted. sj 5

Siadclu, icro-Li. prciffiiJcJ nigmaiLe,

Sifinttbrih, biographer of £*, pjudul
BsyEnn.

SucLF'lacu, St., alkgud levitjtum, gn

SluiLiL.usj Koki.j, St,, ardours,
aJIitjblI Lncr.mipiEon. zjpn.

Stefan* Oiutmajil, BL. 201 .y,

aifi,

Stfinrf, Mary A^Oh, indftiair *tig-
m-uic. wm. IJJft,

Stephen Aagtisti, tniiftn tp SL Stink
1*1 JA* Bldoun, 30$.

Stephen of Hungary, S:.„ aNe^ed
JWncrValiQn of li:ir:ij. J I I
Stephen nr S, j i i tanac , on St, Dtunnljas
Lrviinliun,

Stevenson, editor of Ctoflikcrr A.-.v't-
i*mm, jiGfi.

Sti-l triton. R f... Th/ S’jrjrr^f

hr Jihit and .Ur. Jjt -Jr. diet!, 3 10,
Ssruxii, Foncrt Srrarliij, SL

Catherine de' Rtcci'l ring,, *36.
ScrtELzi, Vbru Minimi, (rviotti!, 31.
Stfczji, Mary Magdalen, on St. Cath¬
erine tic' Rkri, ; jlk-r,

Stubbs. ;iljil

-fauisr, died, 330,

Stjjirci, Fimidi, Icvjtalerl,

1 -ummoLif pbrnonttfli, 185-6,

Suflij, bki^nptUT of St, Frtncfr Borgia,
tfft'

SuetJ. fail, jjj.

-^u. Th. died, 31k 582.3.

Sunderland, Lady, invixi llvtdyn to
^.ictb Rich^djori, 178,

SWvailt, liiop^pker of St. Chute*
BorrDtm'c. 250.

Symond-.Joim VUJmgt.in. op. Sr. (.tare

of .\tniikiiikuv i,

ThAit, JV, did, 370.
i Jim ciin. Ho*r\ptr tended 11 istnalk. 71
Turntt, Dr„ fail. 34a,

Tuqiiiiiio. Fntuoaco, iqi
TtMiitL.-t», Fr., orders Sc, Veronica
Giuliani m be cjL-hjwI, 144.
Taybr. s. C-, anti Smith,

dust. iWK 257, SJ7.

3S4, iM

Tffppa, bUtgrapher of £l. Ambony M,
ZaccarU, am.

Ei-rrso of Atria, St,, mebwee for fevitB*

iim, $-13, 15; n St, Ptter tk

\l 4!itar.i rapt 40 txxu>\\ tS;
rducutnc lo diirei Al(rlit*aO tn hrr-
*^ 3 fh wounil m iicarr. 68;
drwtilM-i cjif d rragmiMe, 227;
odour of nticeity, 237-8. 333;
itiriomipi, 33b, ay?; iluputr at 10
p.i--«diLu, o( fenijini, iniciii-

plieaiintLt or,j

TVrite ef Ledrax, St., appear* to

I cirteia Xiimunn, ao6.

Thibaull, Df,, qp .'ilajrjr Ji- Sainte-
Eujihmic FrJJnier, (58,

Thi^-, A*, bri^aplur of Loybe

J jiicnu, 448, 33tni.

iFioHe [{.. cierd,, 52^

I Wn, Jnlus^ m^tCLUir. 17H.

TbomM dz Corj, II],, levinKn!. v .- r -G;

TLttimt tPiim mnff y |^j
Tfiocnir, AJiry. fait, 378-8^.

Tbircna.1 rtf flmitcni prt, ,xi ike herifict
Diuio.

Thonu-J LPi VuLinovn. Si., nwornjjx,
a-gjfl, 350-1; iHuJtipIhr^iiiTm, 391*
Thotnpaon, F. C,. » , p kii dravekcip

IQS,

"rhamjrtim, Ffrj[y. bjDgmplicf of Amun

Mana Tai^Ij ; 6 yn,

Thomjna, Sir J.J., ^77.

fboiiret, on Cjiai cniai com. (jj Parij,

Jliultau-DriLjiEi, L'-pgraplitr of it
HamatidiiK- of Sj-ma, a^tm.

™E i'MilH A1 t'EEKNOMLSA Hi ^vSTf< Hit

?***• n?, titfd, 3 $IJ, *62-3. 3 V 3 +

J rnnmui, John, isHuini will] iij£ii! T

Tnrrrgmni, Mgr., ^itnc*U peat-
awxcn <m Si. Vittoaiu GiuUwni H

ea,

Tw-baeod. Mn., M Mdffl* rancher,
* 99 ^*** 3.4, : |«B, M j r
/r.i.:arii:» l^wjjhaj dr Ik’urfjon 1 , % j t ^<t r

33 -

I n-jt>, Nfuriu, 19-3U

Cardinal, aii flj Mam Ann*,

Tri&jtie, liecwike, r*t Mam Vfltani,

i0o.

Tu^ir-Us CJcrnVi dau^K'ir. J55.
Tumrj. Thottlm, and rut ,,i j r> .

'-■imrptifm, *33-5.

'I leqilirivli, Jjj. jjjj,

L'jlfinilL, tiatL, Sarra, rim!, lyjn.

L‘«, H- T.mipiriifr linulti?* (he wallt,

tgftr

I rfiLiiii Silitr, wttflcfec? ring of
GJotokw Mann drlla Croec,
139-^1,

Valitiri* U(ij 5 fa(i 1 icf (if Si. John a 5 ,

J .srurwin-, 54I!,

V iltniL 1 i.irpirton, jfia
Vslcnubia, Ludovitui <kv un charii.
Wli| Idtiu

\ tifrrnini, nEtii.% tfjllfir: exitieeTliitig
It). fi-npLr f^l fltufuk. ;^HjUrj.
Viii£ii!]- Pij 1 1 Ei}■», LriPJiprRplur «f Sl
C entil M^fIIu, u&Jn,

\ iujlujt r Sit Ruben, ,'1,.

Vwnar, Peter <fay oerdbwr and bin-
fraplu-j if fit, Cedi'll*, 1331L
VvcrM Dfjitnhrtf, *vmv-*3« Si
Q j rfif f ter tie* Kkn*i nnt, [35,
Vf'injl'knr, Prtke ife. juijlrro j ra n
(riljill, 374,

Vennum, Luniney, n** bf dtuetfatfon,
ri 1. n+>

\ uf^Ijir. S. itrlU, of Jit.

Mi( I (Hr I dr Simtil, 31,

V« U LUTJ CiLik.un S*1 ill 1^1 trvjia.

l(oei, «J 13 $ relucuni u> direct

Wmtitic to fcmdf, tij; iii K cuLiir,
C^Jt. I w>, a15, nipuul tajujiiiak,
! ; awtn ud.-jun, Un* naD;
curvature of dSQufiicr, a 14-15;
friu nui krpi by :Hr L'miv^l
Church, ii+fij inuhiplicj food. <,>v
VVuiiltx, bicLgrapJier r.t S( - .'-nii2jn-
Cumin., 35111,

\ r'-'l.iTiJ. A, \ „ }*i Piatt 1 Sangiuntti
■ L: dkd, 54m, 55Jj.

ViArnir}. Se, John Hajjfht, Ccuuuhrd
from nit a^rr E-'r.-.m, >, nnl

ia.iir.iimi wiih it^RMUt^

*■ 1 r 43"5 i lumiixmj

TaujiailCCj iCf 2 i iniMrrupt. .■ jj;
halLr;irn;iJ

3 ! -L Jillli: befuTLE (X.

bwna(iao« ;IU?

Vietortui, A^rlut merdica) aecauut d
St. L'ijn.

\ ite-sni. Miria, k-fitatcd,

I mpe efe t l 570 , ’jj [?

tJswtBtlal an lour, ?! fj- j L . „ Sc.ii ■ ..f

dfra! I sarj, a^,| 3 mji-vt!l«a*

fnijjTiwice, J-JIIL

Vin, «irdePmii, St. fiol fAi-fl 11rrd with
iliFrnuiL,, Ia 4; lt*azTlfpt> J37. m
\ [ni.i 4 [J rrfrCTj $[ , n.j, cv'ulcnL- uf

laoorrupLbet,

Mfircnt tif Ikniuvaio. on Si Fmndi'i
illfpiMfa. 44,

lrrhijiv, PftjtcrsrtT. oil Lumi^-

ilnor, *f (V MM * AhlUl, 7 V.

Cltol, 3.4 ^ n

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tt^w jiurlu, 275.

Viiry, l,judm*l Jiimis dr. i'[<rpjiihic
™*i BJ, \fjrie d'Oirnki,

, f J,u b. Ci**T Hj,/ dtSKSl-iASnm, I r h.

■^Iwitt], Ciuxni. w 4 te««et raidliptiLj-
two of fnftd, 35^

^flpa. Mgr.. GnufLui Ca]Irani\ ion*

f&fclf, (fo.

Waddingi died, yfuL.

St. Huid Irictlea fnan Ijch»,

Waiter «f Oivcrnn h 3 c fi .

Ift&Ex

V 9

Wan|i p J wTnn , un M*ry

S 79 - 8 *-

Wfltd, VVU&ki, 1-a

WiHmuanl, Dr„ IJII Loiuk 1-iiwi^

3 *£

PHdrtp Jjiull, Ibfrfi* qQ ■ aigmmie, jj,

Weber, E L, HioftrapUnr of Ciiwattli
\ 3 :a[ia drib O' Jaij,

2 3 n nj 355 n.

WmUll, Dr-, vnittera v* itignuia,
<V;'inL br:, Juliana, convmioo
Smtcrm, iai.

!! 'WiM,pt, Tht, died 36;
cl^r. J, Ti:, Thfunma EktaQlawm,
ciicd. iS£m,

WmcV, K , mu .Si, Francis"? itiginju
S»»-

Wn'rtmrg, St-, ificurrupl, njj.

VVcitwr, abAtm Ualhrtinj Fjnn. rAfc,
3 *^»

C. E., on Mot 0 c Fincher, 396-7,
I'M* $04* 307, 309,

IVrolakc, J* G. r biographer of Mn.
330*5,

Vi ouiiix t X H J,* 77 lf Anthnilii

PuttraiiBtt if Sl fkmit *f .Lum,
died, 31.

W|cr- .1.0" foHmg, 35 &

\\ 'LUicrfcfce, bK^mpliR ol St lewn
format, itijn., a 7a, 27*10, 391 n ,

■' ■' JIJ UUE5 of YurJt. St., body tSude* cnJ,

WilfihfDrd, Si,, inrumtnt. nr

WbaJWd, Si,; rfl

Wiiuar, Anna, cwufrfiattcfclllan, 1 19,
Wltr^v Dr,, & S 1 ,, Jlju- Fanchn r i fa a,
S«K

Wmhuin ,irtd Knin, \Tf&rot J-u.
^w./fflLi', ciird. 2 * yi.

^' utr i fr*. fc «i Hwr«ft NWromn, at».

Hvltti. UrnuiiH, ml a MtgmJilL . 73 ,
Wynne, r-jpttm, wi nics^, lrvk.ULLm t 3,
Wynne, J, H„ 70n, 77.

X, Frliij.i. can 1 : Ilf liissocLaji..,!, 1 , ,

Yuiicz, on rigrr mwtfi, 277a,

v«*». w\ a., wicu™^ rw of i,i«k)

from a pietuft, 5411 ,

Yep^, Eidtop. biographer of S|, l orna
i)f Avila. i ip k t2
Ytiru, Dr, on [htnicniirj
iliijmalii, 7610

Zaatiani, Purjcttlivift. Hlgnwtu, fo n :
OiLraculinn ConmmnlofU, IJQ}|t

3 -n,

7 rvn[hks r-c;qLLri U jjpjnj u> , lf . 0 j]* Jf
UJLjfff a St, John of Ihf Crrr.,, jcii
Zcvilikii, L J., on India lion of J cion*
ik Ia En£ 4 monon T 34

ttH so.

CV&EB4L ABCHABOLOOICAL UBRABY
NEW DELHI
T-q j>a a ?cord

-- -

Catalogue No. 133.922/WCr 0 -7EC-Ci.

Author-rnujaton Herbert, ( 3 .J.

Title—;<-, e physical phenomena
atV3ticj am.

O:'

Sorrower ft,

i-r L S'/'

Dal* „f t»ue Dai* o/ K*Ut,

•••/."/• - fcr/,.

*VJ iarfcfc tfia/& i> frrj/ o bic€k ' 1

GOVT OF INDIA ’v-
A* Department of Archacdfijjy

£f NEW DELHI. /

G &

Please htlp us to keep tbc book
clean and moving. 1

I. », I 4 *. e. tiL>L

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